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1 



LONDOX ; 
PRINTEB BY SAMUEL J3ENTLEY, 
Dorset-street, Fleet-street. 



In course of publication, 

THE LITTLE LIBRARY, ^ ^ ' 

Comprising, in a Series of small Volumes, uniformly printed, 
A FAMILIAR INTRODUCTION TO VARIOUS BRANCHES 

OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. 



I. 

THE MINE ; by the late Rev. Isaac Taylor, of Ongar. Fourth 
Edition. Illustrated with 16 Engravings, and a Mineralogical Table. 
Price 3s. 6d. neatly bound in coloured cloth, lettered. Square 16mo. 
Extract from the 

CONTENTS.— Ancient Coal Mine.— Gold Mines.— Anglesea Mines.— Black 
Damp. — Black Lead. — Blast Furnace. — Blasting Mines. — Boring for Coal. — 
Brazil Diamonds. — Bristol Stones. — Cannel Coal. — Captain of a Mine. — Car- 
ron Founderies. — Choke Damp. — Cinnabar. — Coining Tin. — Copper; its various 
Mines. — Sir H.Davy's Safety Lamp. — Descending into Mines of Copper, Coal, 
Iron, Salt, and Silver. — Diamonds. — Finding Mines. — Draining Mines. — Dress 
for a Mine. — Explosion of Coal, Galena, Gas. — Fuller's Earth. — Gold in various 
parts of the World. — Lead. — Mercury. — History of Mines. — Mineral Cabinet. — 
Mines in Cornwall. — Pactolus. — Phcenicians trading for Tin. — Pig Iron. — Pluni- 
bago. — Quantities of Coal sent to London. — Rail Roads. — Retorts. — Roasting Ore. 
—Smelting Furnace.— Stamping Mills. — Steam Engine. — Stream of Sparks.— 
Sulphur. — "Women Coal Bearers. — Zinc, &c. &c. 

II. 

THE SHIP. By the late Rev. Isaac Taylor, of Ongar, Essex, 
Author of Scenes in Europe," ''The Mine," &c. Illustrated with 
Sixteen Engravings on Steel. Price 3s. 6d. neatly bound in cloth, 
lettered, square 16mo. 

The following is a brief enumeration of the subjects noticed in 
this book : — 

Noah's Ark. — Floats on the Rhine. — Egyptian Pottery Float. — Indian Paddle 
Canoes. — Boats, Barges, and Lighters. — Sailing Canoes. — Chinese Junks. — The 
Nautilus. — Ancient Vessels. — Roman Galleys. — British Coracles. — C£esar's Fleet. 
— A Fire Ship.— A Cutter. — A Gun-boat. — A Bomb-ketch. — A Frigate. — A 
Man-of-War, with its Long boat, Barge, Pinnace, Cutter, and Yawl. — A Turkish 
Galley. — A Venetian Galleas. — A French Galley. — A Xebec, Polacre, and Tartan. 
— A Snow, Bilander, Schooner, and Dogger. — A Sloop, Hoy, and Smack. — An 
East-Indiaman. — A Portuguese Carrack. — A Spanish Galleon. — ^A Canal Boat. 
— A Wherry, and Pleasure Boat Lord Mayor's State Barge. — Venetian Gon- 
dola. — The Doge's Bucentaur. — A Man-of-War, with descriptive references. — A 
Section of a Man-of-War. — The Dock Yard. — The Ship Launch. 



III. 

THE GARDEN ; or, Familiar Instruction for the Laying out and 
Management of a Flower Garden. Illustrated with Twelve Engravings 
of Flowers, on Steel, beautifully coloured, and numerous Woodcuts. 
Price 3s. 6d. neatly bound in coloured cloth, lettered. Square 16mo. 

" Youthful labourers in Gardens are generally very fluctuating in their industry; 
having no well-defined end in view ; they want method in their exertions ; it is 
therefore very desirable that they should have some familiar manual to which 
they may refer. This little book, is calculated not only to impart a love for gar- 
dening, but at the same time, to afford ample means of following the pursuit with 
interest and advantage. The information is conveyed in a juvenile correspondence, 
so naturally sustained, as to induce the conviction that the advice, in each parti- 
cular case, must be the result of personal experience." — Quarterly Journal of 
Education. 

IV. 

THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS OF THE CITY OF LONDON 
DESCKIBED. Illustrated with Twelve Engravings on Steel. Price 
3s. 6d. neatly bound in coloured cloth, lettered. Square 16mo. 

V. 

THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS OF WESTMINSTER DE- 
SCRIBED. Illustrated with Twelve Engravings on Steel. Price 
3s. 6d. neatly bound in coloured cloth, lettered. Square 16mo. 

VI. 

BIBLE ILLUSTRATIONS ; or, a Description of the Manners 
and Customs peculiar to the East, especially explanatory of the Holy 
Scriptures. By the Rev. Bourne Hall Draper, Author of Scrip- 
ture Stories," from the Old and New Testament. Illustrated with 
Sixteen Engravings on Steel. Price 4s. bound in coloured cloth, let- 
tered. Square 16mo. 

Contents. — Eastern Houses. — Bricks. — Hospitality. — Homage. — Sacrifices. 
— Inns. — Keys. — Covenants. — Serpents. — Wheat, Bread, Food, &c. — Ovens. — 
Ornaments. — Rice. — Eating Elesh. — Napkins. — Books and Writing. — Feasts 
and Meals. — Presents. — Cattle, Agriculture, and Vineyards. — Trade and Com- 
merce. — Music and Poetry. — Grecian Games. — Grinding. — Tents. — Climate. — 
Fire. — Bottles. — Shoes. — Thrones. — The Mirage. — The Simoon. — Gold — Water 
Spouts. — Doorways and Gates. — Balances. — Salutation. — Moloch. — Garments.— 
Threshing. — Posture. — Mourning. — Miscellaneous subjects. 



Shortly will be published. 
VII. 

THE FARM ; or, a New Description of Rural Toils and Produce. 
By Jefferys Taylor, Author of The Forest." Illustrated with 
Engravings on Steel and Woodcuts. Price 4s. bound in coloured cloth, 
lettered. Square l(imo. 



THE FOREST, 



INTRODUCTION. 

Nature is beautiful in any season ; she va- 
ries in her costume^ but is at all times lovely^, 
or at least interesting ; whether we trace the 
broad valley, climb the steep hill, or wander 
through the gloomy shadows of the pathless 
wood. 

The Spring pleases all ages ; perhaps, to 
such as are advanced in years, that revival, 
which age can never hope for, is, on that ac- 
count, to them peculiarly delightful. Yet the 

B 



2 



INTRODUCTION. 



vivid greens, the corn-growing lands, must 
delight all, who have eyes, whatever their years 
may be. The primrose, peeping from beneath 
the heaps of withered leaves, which have all 
the winter sheltered it, and repaying their 
kindness by decorating with its knots of pale 
petals the brown ruin, is sure to suit the taste 
and feelings of old and young ; whilst the 
warbling of the feathered choir, from the 
broken notes of the twittering wren, to the 
full and more continuous tunes of the blackbird 
and the thrush, draw our attention now this 
way and now that ; and the busy bee, by its I 
ceaseless humming, proclaims its honourable 
industry, and calls upon the indolent to follow 
so good an example. 

The Summer ripens every beauty, and pre- 
sents it — no longer, indeed, with the charms of 
childhood, but — with the more satisfactory ful- 



INTRODUCTION. 



3 



ness of youth hasting to maturity. The leaves 
are perfectly grown ; the tints are firmer and 
darker greens ; and the whole form and stature 
of every tree and every bush is complete. The 
blossoms of the May-bush have sparkled^ and 
are beginning to be replaced by the reddening 
and scarcely less abundant berries. 

A stroll in Autumn is invited by the rich 
glowing tints^ which everywhere burnish the 
landscape. Call it decay^ if you please^ but 
acknowledge^ at the same time^ that Nature is 
yet admirable ; more beauteous and grand in 
her declining magnificence^ than art in the 
most costly and splendid displays, which hu- 
man pomp and pageantry can exhibit. From 
the dwarf nut-bush, with its brown treasures, to 
the stately oak, dotted with clustering acorns, 
all is fruitfulness. The crimson bunches of 
the hawthorn, and the scarlet berries of the 

B 21 



4 



INTRODUCTION. 



dog-rose^ with the blue-bloomed sloe and the 
prolific blackberry, shew that the flowering 
season is indeed over, but that more substan- 
tial blessings have succeeded. Stores of win- 
ter food are thus provided for the birds, when 
the corn-seeds are all picked up, and when the 
insect tribes have retired to their hidden re- 
cesses, or lie not less secure in their aurelise en- 
velopements. The gossamer lingers and throws 
its fine and wavy lines across our path ; frail, 
and almost viewless threads, they impede no 
irore than do the shades in which they lie 
unseen, or the sunbeams in which anon they 
glisten. 

And Winter, stern and severe as its charac- 
ter is, has an elegance and beauty peculiar to 
itself. Many an evergreen dots the wood with 
its dark foliage ; the brow^n leaves of the ilex 
oak, shew but sad remains of former orna- 



INTRODUCTION. 



5 



mental attire ; yet the verdant moss and the 
enlivening ivy remain on the giant form of the 
gnarled oak, and invest the less rugged struc- 
ture of the tall and feathering elm, and the 
more delicate aspen. Should the snow cover 
with its spotless mantle the broad mead, it 
will elegantly ornament the trees, encrusting 
their stouter branches ; festooning along the 
hedge rows, or hanging in full drapery, as it 
drifts through them and hangs over the bank. 
If, instead of the overwhelming snow storm, 
we are presented only with the hoar-frost, 2an 
any thing be more beautifully rich than its fil- 
lagree operations ? The firmness and dryness 
which the frost gives to the ground, renders 
walking safer and more pleasant than in some 
of the milder but more humid seasons. The 
cold too shuts up in a torpid state many of 
the reptile race ; they sleep, unwilling and un- 



6 



INTRODUCTION. 



able to appear in an atmosphere so benumbing 
and unkind as this. 

I was roused from my reverie by the appear- 
ance of two genteel lads^ who^ I suppose^ had 
observed me. I saw in their countenances^ a 
wish to ask me a question or two ; and, as I 
am never better pleased than when young 
persons are desirous of instruction, I quickly 
informed them, by a bland countenance and 
gentle tone of voice, that I was ready to en- 
ter into conversation with them, if such were 
their desire. 

" What a large forest this is. Sir !" said the 
younger of the two ; we have walked in it 
some miles, and are quite tired." 

I was seated on the mossy stump of an oak, 
a sapling of which had started from the root, 
and, emulous of its parent's honours, had spread 



INTRODUCTION. 7 

its umbrageous branches far around^ forming a 
pleasant shade. I invited the youths to sit 
down, one on each hand. We were acquainted 
presently. 

Now, my young friends/' said I, " as to 
the size of the forest, I believe it greatly ex- 
ceeds in extent the distance which you have 
probably walked this morning. I understand 
that this New Forest, as it is called, is reckon- 
ed twenty miles long from Godshill to the 
sea ; and you may travel about fifteen miles 
across it." 

I am surprised," said the eldest, whose 
name I found was Frederick, that they let 
so much fine land lie waste. Was it always 
as wild and rough as it is at present ?" 

No. It was once well peopled ; contained 
many flourishing towns and quiet villages, and 



8 



INTRODUCTION, 



thirty-six parish churches^ with cultivated fields 
and farms." 

Indeed ! How were they all so completely 
ruined ? Was it fire^ or a floods or the plague^ 
that killed the people^ and destroyed the build- 
ings ?" 

It was neither fire nor floods nor was it 
pestilence ; but that which is often more to be 
dreaded than these : it was wanton ruthless 
despotism. William the Norman^ who, from 
his defeating the English king Harold, is com- 
monly called the Conqueror ^ — was fond of 
hunting, almost to madness. This spot, un- 
fortunately for its peaceful inhabitants, ap- 
peared to him suited to such royal amusement. 
He, therefore, expelled the people, thinking 
nothing of their sufferings. He demolished 
the farms and the villages, the churches and 
the convents. He made the whole a wilder- 



INTRODUCTION 



9 



ness, and appointed persons to take care that 
it should continue so, with orders to nourish 
up the wild animals fit for the chase ; making 
very severe laws against such as should, by 
hunting or any other means, presume to kill 
his deer, or imitate his own pastime." 

But," said one of my hearers timidly, 

can kings always do as that king did ? " 

*^*^At that time," said I, there were very 
few kings who could not do that, and worse, 
when they pleased ; but now, even in what are 
called absolute monarchies, it could scarcely 
be done. England has, for a long time, en- 
joyed the government of the laws^ which, and 
only which, the king has power to execute. 
If the sovereign were now to desire the in- 
dulgence of such a whim, his only way would 
be to buy the property of the persons to 
whom it might belong, and thus induce them 



10 INTRODUCTION. 

to remove by money. The most powerful 
man in the land cannot enter the cottage of 
the poorest person without his consent ; un- 
less^ indeed^ that poor man happen to be a 
criminal or a debtor. When^ for any public 
work_, such as a canal or a bridge/ private 
estates are w^anted^ an Act of Parliament must 
be procured, and their full value must be paid ; 
and when even a forest, or a wilderness is to be 
enclosed for cultivation, the same process must 
be gone through." 

And were there, in the reign of this Wil- 
liam the Norman, no poachers, who would 
hunt his game, in spite of his laws T inquired 
Harry. 

There were persons, certainly, who stole 
his deer ; but it was at the peril of having 
their eyes put out, a limb cut off, or of being 
hanged upon the spot. The forest laws were 



INTRODUCTION. 



11 



extremely severe^ and became the most com- 
mon sources of dispute between the king and 
his nobles ; for they were as fond of hunting as 
he was. Charters were forced from several of 
his successors, to prevent maiming and death 
for such trespasses ; and Magna Charta^ at 
lengthy settled the laws on a better plan than 
before. Pray, my young friends, will you tell 
me something about Magna ChartaV 

They readily replied, that it was obtained 
at Runnimede, where King J ohn was forced to 
sign it. 

I am always pleased when I find in the 
young not only these principal points of know- 
ledge, but also a facility in communicating 
what they know. It is true, indeed, that no- 
thing is more offensive than that self-suffi- 
cient ostentation, by which some youngsters 
push themselves into every question, to give 



12 INTRODUCTION. \ 

their opinion^ — before it is asked or wished. 
On the other hand, there scarcely can be a 
greater hinderance to a youth's taking his place 
respectably in society, than that needless and 
foolish timidity, which prevents his making 
proper use of the information with which his 
mind, by the skill of his instructors and his 
own diligence, has been perhaps adequately 
stored. Thus, a lad sometimes appears what 
he is not — ignorant or stupid, — because he is 
abashed and ashamed to speak even before his 
friends. 

I then asked another question. Pray, is 
there any thing concerning this forest in par- 
ticular, which you remember to have read in 
the History of England ?" 

I think," said Frederick, after a moment's 
pause, that William Rufus was killed in it." 
You are right. William Rufus was the 



INTRODUCTION. 



13 



son of William the Norman, who first made 
the forest. He was as fond of hunting as 
his father, and had been busily engaged in 
his sport during the day. Towards evening 
he and Sir Walter Tyrrel were separated from 
the company. William, perceiving a stag 
coming towards them, let fly his arrow and 
wounded, but did not kill, the animal. Tyrrel 
at that moment saw another, and shot at it ; 
but the arrow, missing the deer, glanced from 
a tree, and struck the king to the heart. 
Tyrrel, alarmed at the event, clapped spurs to 
his horse, nor stopped till he got to the sea-side, 
where he went immediately on board a vessel, 
and made his way to the Holy Land, to fight the 
Saracens. Perhaps, it was only to escape the 
vengeance likely to attend his unhappy deed ; 
or else, according to the superstition of the 
times, he might hope to expiate the crime of 



14 INTRODUCTION. 

killing the king accidentally^ by what was 
then esteemed a good work of the most illus- 
trious kind^ that of killings by all the means 
which the most determined purpose could 
command^ as many Saracens, or Mohammedan 
infidels, as he could. 

The oak, against which the arrow struck, 
became interesting, and was suffered to stand 
till it died of old age. In the year 1745, a 
triangular stone monument was erected on the 
spot where the accident occurred, to keep it 
still in remembrance." 

But," said Frederick, reverting to his pre- 
vious inquiry, I am yet unable to see why so 
much land should be still allowed to lie waste." 

*You seem to think," said I, that its 
present produce is worth nothing. It is true, 
that this forest occupies ninety thousand 
acres ; that this would make more than five 



INTRODUCTION 



15 



hundred respectable farms ; and so on. But 
then we must look elsewhere^ and perhaps in 
vain, for a sufficiency of oak timber to build 
our national navy. You see what fine trees 
are growing up all rounds of all ages and sizes. 
If these be taken proper care of, the older 
trees may be cut down^ as they become fit for 
use; and thus a constant supply of excellent 
timber is secured for the defence of our im- 
portant little island : you would not have that 
neglected^ surely?" 

But besides that/' said Harry, we Avant 
wood, I suppose, to build houses ; and fag- 
gots, to burn in them. It would not, I think, 
be very wise to grow nothing but food, and 
so have no fires to cook it with, nor houses to 
eat it in," 

" And yet. Sir," said Frederick, turning to 
me, " you spoke of making a forest of this 



16 



INTRODUCTION. 



part of the country^ as an exceedingly cruel 
and mischievous act. I suppose^ after all^ that 
though timber is worth much, corn and cattle 
are worth more." 

It would/' said I, be cruel and mis- 
chievous, in a high degree, to drive people 
from their houses and lands by mere force, to 
make the finest and most productive forest 
that ever was heard of ; how much worse to 
do it, merely to secure a place for the amuse- 
ment of a few ! As to the question, whether 
the produce of a forest, or of farms, be the 
most valuable, that must depend upon cir- 
cumstances, with which we cannot at present 
be sufficiently acquainted to form a judgment. 
Yet I am inclined to think, that a thousand 
acres of fine wood land would now yield more 
to its possessor than the same extent of mea- 
dows and corn fields." 



17 



THE OAK. 

We had made a sort of bargain to meet 
again. I had not been long on my mossy seat^ 
before I heard their voices^ and, at a turn, 
formed by a cluster of trees and bushy under- 
wood, I saw them approach, with their sis- 
ters, as I learned afterwards. They were fol- 
lowed by a somewhat elderly lady, whom I 
soon found to be the relative with whom the 
young party resided. She presently stepped 
forward, and, after a moment occupied by an 
anxious and penetrating survey, in a lady-like 
manner thanked me for my previous instruc- 
tions to those whom I now discovered to be 
her nephews. 

c 



18 THE JUVENILE PARTY. 

I trust/' added slie^ they were not trou- 
blesome with their questions: the inquisitive- 
ness of youths even in matters of proper and 
needful information^ is^ I know^, sometimes an- 
noying/' 

I rose^ and begged her and the young 
ladies to take my seat ; replying^ that I never 
felt it troublesome to answer inquiries dictated 
by that laudable curiosity^ which gives young 
persons a constant appetite for knowledge. 
" Your juvenile party^ Madam/' said I, ^^have 
much to learn, and, the youngest of them 
has only a few years to learn it in : I shall be 
most happy to assist them, whilst I remain in 
the country, by affording hints respecting sub- 
jects connected with The Forest ^ as occasional 
opportunities here may present themselves." 

Looking at the young ladies with, I suppose, 
rather a fatherly smile, she was pleased to say 




Page 17. 



OAK. 



CONNECTING ACQUAINTANCE. 19 

that they also would be obliged by being per- 
mitted to listen to the conversation. 

I am glad. Madam/' said I, not only 
that my auditory is enlarged, but that you 
agree with me in thinking that general know- 
ledge and literary and scientific information 
should not be confined to the sons of a family. 
Such is the opinion and practice of my esteem- 
ed friend, Mr. Longhurst, at whose house I 
am spending a few weeks of this delightful 
season." 

Mr. Longhurst, of Ashfield, I presume," 
said she, with evident satisfaction. I have 
recently had the happiness of an introduction 
to the very amiable and intelligent family re- 
siding there ; and regret that distance renders 
our visits unfrequent." 

By this fortunate coincidence, we soon be- 
came known, and introduced respectively by 

c 2 



20 WOODLAND EXCURSIONS APPOINTED. 

name ; nor was the circumstance mentioned 
at Ashfield, without a day being fixed for an 
invitation to Mrs. Heathfield and her sister's 
family. 

Our woodland excursions were now regu- 
larly appointed^ and attended more nume- 
rously ; and my own were not the only stores 
of knowledge drawn upon for the benefit of 
the younger individuals of the party. Mr. 
Longhurst was a well-educated, intelligent 
man ; one who had evidently been always obser- 
vant of things around him, and had a strong 
taste for the appearances and incidents of na- 
ture. He had read much, and travelled ; and 
thus, by the help of a pretty good memory, he 
made himself a valuable instructor and a very 
interesting companion. 

However, he was not present on this occa- 
sion ; and, therefore, I supplied what hints I 



THE OAK. 



21 



could myself, on the subjects in hand^ as pro- 
posed. 

One of our first inquiries should be/' said 
I, concerning the different sorts of trees ; and 
how we are to distinguish one species from 
another. My best way will be to lead you to 
some good specimens of each^ which we may 
probably find within a moderate distance." 

Now one of you, young gentlemen, per- 
haps, will oblige us by pointing out an oak 
tree." 

There is one and, Is not that one ?" 
— and, I will bring an oak branch — were 
the ready replies. 

Now observe the general grandeur of the 
tree : to what a considerable height it grows 
straight. The farther this straightness con- 
tinues in the stem, or what is called the sticky 
or hutty the more valuable is the timber. This 



22 THE oak: stem and arms. 

is often forty^ or even sixty feet in height, 
before it has a branch. Observe, m what a 
right-angled manner the stubborn branches 
shoot from the main trunk; and afterwards 
start abruptly in various directions. When 
the tree is in full leaf, you can scarcely discern 
this ; yet if you go nearer, and almost under 
it, you will perceive it, especially if you com- 
pare its square-turned and akimbo arms with 
those of its neighbour there, on the left, the 
pliant ash." 

Those straggling arms are useless, I sup- 
pose," said Harry : there is no cutting a 
long plank out of them." 

" Then they are only unfit for plankSy Mr. 
Henry. So far from being useless, they are, 
for some purposes, very valuable. They are 
already bent, you see ; and therefore, suit 



THE oak: leaves. 23 

admirably where bent timbers are required^, 
as in what are called the knees^ in ship- 
ping." 

The knees in shipping ?" responded one 
of my hearers^ inquiringly. 
' They are called hiees^'' I added ; signi- 
ficantly enough, on account of their form. 
Their place and use in the ship are against 
the ribs, or side timbers, to support the main 
beams of the deck." 

But you have brought me an oak branch. 
Now observe the leaves : See how much they 
seem to grow in bunches ! And look at each 
individual leaf. Its form is peculiar and beau- 
tiful. The general shape, like that of many 
others, is a longish oval ; but then, you see, it 
is deeply scolloped ; the outline being turned 
in and out, as if cut thus with scissors. By 



24 



THE OAK. 



this^ you may tell an oak leaf at once from any 
other." 

" I will take a bunch home/' said Frederick, 
" and draw it; or, at least, take the out- 
line of some of the leaves, that I may know it 
again. I can run my pencil round the edge, 
as it lies flat on the paper ; and that must be 
like it in size and shape." 

" That is certainly one way to impress this 
specific modicum of knowledge on your mind, 
so that Time, that plunderer of the memory, 
shall not deprive you of it." 

We had walked during this conversation, 
until, perceiving a fine grove of oaks growing 
beautifully together, I called the attention of 
my auditory to the grand mass. 

" Well might the Druids be fond of groves 
of oak ! How noble the external appearance ; 



DRUIDS 



25 



how deep the shade, when we penetrate those 
dark recesses ! Such solitude and solemn 
gloom have certainly a tendency to inspire 
seriousness." 

Who were the Druids/' inquired Harriet ; 
did they ever live in this Forest T 

No, my dear. This Forest was made, as 
I told your brothers, by William the Norman, 
or Conqueror, many ages after the Druids had 
ceased. They were the priests and magis- 
trates of the original inhabitants of this island. 
Julius Csesar, when he first came hither, found 
the Britons entirely under their influence ; 
and when the Romans had obtained power 
here, they turned out the Druids. Their last 
retreat was the island of Anglesea, then called 
Mona. There Paulinus, the Roman general, 
slew multitudes of the priests; burnt their 



26 



THE OAK 



groves^ and put a final stop to their influence. 
The whole brotherhood^ with their system of 
^ship and religion, perished qu^ickly." 

Did the Druids love the oak/' said Harry, 
because they lived upon the acorns ? I 
have heard that, anciently, men ate them. I 
think, they must have been very hungry first. 
I have tried them often, but never could swal- 
low them." 

I do not wonder at that much, my young 
friend," said I ; several things should be 
taken into consideration, to explain the matter. 
One thing, which does wonders, is necessity, 
another is use. Now, I suppose, that if your 
parents could have procured no other nourish- 
ment for you than acorns, you would have 
eaten them, and have long since forgotten 
that they were unpalatable. You have heard. 



ACORNS. 27 

perhaps, the story of the young Greenlander 
who was brought to Denmark, clothed, and 
lodged, and fed as people are there, with nic - 
ties, compared with Greenland fare. These 
things he endured so long as nothing else came 
in his way. But once meeting with a can of 
whale oil, he took a long draught, and said, 
^ How I wish I were in my own country, 
where I could get as much of this as I 
pleased !' " 

Oh, what a pity he did not stay there," 
said Amelia, and then we should never have 
heard of so unpleasant a meal !" 

I begged pardon for naming the incident ; 
and was, I believe, speedily forgiven. I then, 
took the liberty to say, that, after all, there 
was a wonderful distinction between those 
customs of men, which shewed a preference 



28 



THE OAK, 



for the use of food, clothing, or dwellings, 
coarse, awkward, and rude, and those more 
important predilections of the mind for things 
morally vile or unworthy. It were better," 
I said, to take our choice of dining or 
starving with a Laplander, than have the 
body fed, as it commonly is in civilized coun- 
tries, whilst the understanding is either poi- 
soned with improper notions, or suffered to 
become weak and utterly diseased, by being 
deprived altogether of the means of mental 
subsistence." 

Look there ! Look there !" said Amelia. 
^'What beautiful animal is that, springing 
from tree to tree over our heads, and now 
looking at us so hard ?" 

We each turned our eyes to the spot, and 
soon discovered that most expert of all agile 



ACORNS. 29 

performers, a wood-squirrel, which had, it 
seems, been just gathering acorns for his winter 
store. He seemed rather displeased at our 
presence, and, in a half angry manner, as if he 
would frighten us away, he every now and then 
stared, murmured, and threw himself about, to 
our great amusement. 

- But," I resumed, we were inquiring 
whether acorns were eatable or not ? I fancy 
little scug was indignant at hearing the stand- 
ing repast of himself and friends thus spoken 
of. Besides custom, which does so much to 
make us not only patient, but pleased, with 
many otherwise disagreeable things, climate 
must be taken into the account. We have 
chestnut trees in England, — of the Spanish 
kind, I mean, — but the fruit does not ripen 
well here, nor acquire its proper and native fla- 



I 



30 AGE OF TREES. || 

vour. So we import those of Spanish growth, 
to roast for our desserts. 'But there are va- 
rieties of the oak tree, even in England ; and 
many sorts abroad, which bear a fruit with a 
pleasant taste, like a nut. And these acorns, 
which at present are so astringent and rough, ^ 
when boiled or soaked in water, lose much of 
their peculiarity in that respect, and become,"' 
as I am told, eatable, and even agreeable." 

Some of these trees," observed Mrs. Heath- 
field, have attained a great size ; can any 
judgment be formed of their age ?" 

Their size," I said, bespeaks certainly 
considerable age ; but their exact period can-^ 
not, perhaps, be ascertained till they are cut 
down. Then, if we examine carefully the endj| 
formed by the saw, we shall find the surface to 
be composed of circles, one within another, from 
the bark to the centre. As it is known that 

I 



AGE OF TREES. 



31 



each circle is one year's growth of the tree, 
counting their number will give the term of its 
duration." 

I thought/' said Harry, that wood was 
wood, and all alike through the timber : 
I do not remember to have noticed these 
circles." 

But others have, whose eyes have been 
no better than yours," I replied. However, 
something besides eyes seems needful to con- 
stitute an accurate observer of nature. It ap- 
pears that the sap-vessels, just under the bark, 
which are in a soft, spungy state during the 
summer, harden in the winter, and become 
firm wood. In the next spring, fresh sap 
rises in another circle of vessels, pushing the 
bark outwards ; and, in its turn, changes into 
the close-grained proper wood of the tree. 
Thus the whole is enlarged, and these annular 



32 SAP AND HEART OF TIMBER. 

and annual additions are in general clearly 
discernible/' 

" One things Sir/' said Harry^ I have 
observed ; but I do not quite understand it ; 
in looking at the end of a piece of timber^ or • 
the arm of a tree newly cut^ the parts within 
two or three inches round the edge look 
whitish^ whilst that towards the middle is 
much darker." 

The whiter part is a younger and softer 
wood; and because the juices of the tree 
most abound therein^ workmen call it the 
sap. The dark part is the hearty and is, in 
fact, the only part fit for use, where good 
timber is required. In the branches therefore, 
where the heart is often only an inch or two in 
diameter, very little wood worth sawing is 
found. They are, however, used whole, or in 
quarters, for fences and other purposes. Con- 



AGE OF TREES 



33 



cerning the age of trees in this forest, we 
have the testimony of Mr. Evelyn, in his 
Sylva; that he had, in some cases, counted 
three or four hundred concentric rings, each 
ring marking a year's growth." 

Three or four hundred years !" said Fre- 
derick ; then it is not worth one's while to 
begin planting ; we can never hope to see 
them of any size worth speaking of ; and as to 
making money of them, that is quite out of 
the question." 

If we are to think of, and labour, only for 
ourselves, Frederick, many things will appear 
scarcely worth while. But it is well to do 
something for those who are to succeed us ; 
as, certainly, we are all much indebted to those 
who lived before we did, and who acted on 
other principles than merely such as were sel- 
fish. Whilst a gentleman of landed property 

D 



34 



REMARKABLE OAKS. 



derives thousands of pounds from the disin- 
terested forethought of his ancestors, in plant- 
ing and preserving young trees upon his es- 
tate, it will not cost him as many shillings to 
plant and preserve others, that the estate may 
continue to be as productive, when he has 
done with it." 

Mrs. Heathfield was remarking the size of 
some of these trees ; and no wonder, for they 
are noble specimens. Yet we have accounts 
of some far exceeding them in size. One, in 
Dennington Park, called the King's Oaky was 
fifty feet high before it threw out a branch ; 
and the lower part, when squared for sale, 
measured five feet across. One, in Shropshire, 
M^as yet larger, being nine feet in diameter ; 
and the branches covered a space of almost a 
hundred and fifty feet. One, at Norbury, was 
in girth forty-five feet, which, you know, gives 



THE BOSCOBEL OAK. 35 

a diameter of about fifteen ; so that when it 
lay on the ground^ men on horseback could 
not see each other^ if they placed themselves 
on opposite sides of it. The Boddington oak^ 
in Gloucestershire^ was^ at the lower part^ 
fifty-four feet in circumference ; the principal 
branches had long been decayed ; the inside 
was hollow^ and, being covered over, formed 
a room sixteen feet in diameter, with a door 
and one window. But perhaps the largest on 
record, at least in Britain, was that called 
Damory's oaky which grew in Dorsetshire ; its 
girth was sixty-eight feet, and the hollow 
within, forming an apartment sixteen feet long 
and twenty feet high, was used as a drinking- 
room, for the entertainment of travellers in 
Cromwell's time. In 1703, during that dread- 
ful tempest, which ravaged many parts of Eng- 
land, on the 27th November, this majestic tree 

D 2 



36 THE BOSCOBEL OAK. 

was very much shattered; from that time it 
went fast to decay, and in 1755, its last re- 
mains were sold for firewood." 

And what is the Boscobel Oak ?" said Fre- 
derick. I have read of that, in the English 
History." 

Boscobel is in Staffordshire. At the house 
so called, Charles II. took shelter, when fleeing 
from the victorious Cromwell, after the deci- 
sive battle of Worcester. There was a large 
oak near it, which Charles ascended, until its 
spreading branches veiled him from the eyes of 
his eager pursuers. The tree has long since 
perished. Mr. Gilpin mentions one, at Ox- 
ford, called Alfred's oak, which is said to have 
been a sapling when that monarch founded 
the university ; though I cannot give implicit 
credence to the tradition. It is now gone." 

Has the oak two sorts of fruit?" asked 



OAK APPLES. . 37 

Amelia. I have seen acorns upon it fre- 
quently ; and have often heard of oak apples.'' 
I perceived that several of the auditory could 
smile at this apparent absurdity ; but, on wait- 
ing a due time, I found that none of them 
could correct it. Mrs. Heathfield observed, 
that oak apples were a disease on the oak, 
caused by the wound of an insect. 

That insect," I added, pierces the young 
wood, and leaves its eggs in the wound. This 
occasions a stagnation, or stoppage, in the sap, 
and at the same time, an increased action in 
the vessels, which causes the juices to flow^ to 
that part in greater abundance ; so that the 
bark swells out, as you have seen, in a globular 
shape, and sometimes to the size of an egg. 
This forms a residence for the young maggot, 
and also supplies it with nourishment. When 
fully grown, the sagacious inhabitant pierces 



38 OAK GALLS. 

itself an opening from witliin^ and obtains its 
needful liberty ; you^ or any one^ may have the 
apple then ; it needs that food and lodging no 
longer. Those which grow in foreign coun- 
tries are called galls ; these are of great im- 
portance in commerce ; being used by dyers ; 
and writing-ink, if good^ is made with them." 

An acorn is a pretty thing in shape/' said 
Harriet ; although I am not more fond of 
the taste than other folks. The cups are so 
very rounds regular^ and neat^ that I have been 
pleased to see them set out on a large flat 
shell for dolly's tea-things. Dolly did not^ I 
am sure^ know that they were not real china^ 
but sat to them very contentedly^ with me, in 
the corner, under the hawthorn bush." 

And now/' I said, before we leave the 
oak, we ought to note its principal uses and 
peculiarities. It is, perhaps, we may say, the 



OAK TIMBER. 



39 



best timber that is known. Other timber may 
be harder ; some more difficult to bend ; and 
other sorts less liable to be broken across ; but 
none contains all the three qualities in such 
equal proportions as the oak. As its growth 
is extremely slow^ so the period is long^ in- 
deed, which reduces the wood itself to decay. 
It bears the changing seasons better, and re- 
mains longer undecayed in the ground, than 
any other. But the bark of the oak is an 
article now of almost as much importance as 
the timber. When steeped, by a proper pro- 
cess, in pits, with the hides of animals, it has 
a chemical property, which changes those raw 
and unpleasant skins into the smooth, durable 
commodity called leather; and, though there 
are some few other trees whose barks have 
the same power, in a slight degree, oak bark 
alone is really serviceable to that end. When 



40 OAK BARK^ OR TAN. 

the bark is done with by the tanners^ it is 
formed into small cakes^ called turfs^ for fuel ; 
or is used by gardeners for hot-beds^ for the 
growth of pine-apples and other tropical plants. 
The leaves and saw-dust of this tree are used 
much in dyeing ; and extracts from them be- 
come valuable medicines. 

We may as well mention here^ perhaps, 
that the best charcoal is made from the 
hranckes of the oak, although most other 
woods will make it. — Now can any one tell 
me how this article is made ; or inform me 
of its principal properties, or uses ?" 

Frederick observed, that it was nothing but 
hurnt wood ; and that its chief use, as he sup- 
posed, was to enable the old women to roast 
chestnuts and apples, for boys to eat in frosty 
weather. 

I admitted that charcoal was wood burned 



CHARCOAL. 



41 



to a certain degree ; and that it was employed 
occasionally in the way he had mentioned. 

But/' I continued^ I am afraid that the 
burning of charcoal must be a poor business^ if 
used only for such purposes." I;, therefore^ 
added the following particulars to his stock of 
knowledge on this subject : 

Charcoal is made by subjecting wood to 
the action of fire ; but it is so covered up in 
sand^ or earthy that^ though it burns in a slum- 
bering sort of way^ it is not consumed. It is 
impossible to procure a substance resembling 
charcoal by burning wood in the open air ; 
which-, if any one should doubt^ let him try 
the experiment. 

Charcoal is not liable to decay by age^ 
even when placed in the earth. It was cus- 
tomary for the ancients to char the outsides of 
all timbers that were to be inserted in the 



42 



CHARCOAL 



ground, or put in water for a continuance. It 
may be preserved for any length of time ; and 
in the tombs of many ancient nations, entire 
pieces of charcoal are frequently found. But 
this substance is chiefly used and required in 
the composition of gunpowder. The quantity 
thus consumed, and especially in the time of 
war, is immense ; and it is doubtful whether 
all the old women, who ever roasted chestnuts, 
consumed a hundredth part of the quantity 
which government has made use of in a month. 
But besides the great use of it as an ingre- 
dient in gunpowder, it is also wanted, on 
many occasions, in the polite and mechanical 
arts. Painters draw their outlines with it ; 
and some of their colours are composed of it. 
It is the best thing known as a polisher for cop- 
per and brass plates. When refined, it forms 
an excellent tooth-powder: it corrects, when 



CHARCOAL. 



43 



properly applied^ the ill-odours of train oil ; 
nay, more^ animal substances^ such as large 
joints of meats, which have become so stale as 
to be quite unfit for food^ niay, by charcoal, 
be restored^ and rendered perfectly fresh and 
wholesome." 

^^O dear! how little I knew about char- 
coal/' said Frederick. And most of my hearers 
admitted that these particulars were new also 
to them. 

It has many and important uses," I re- 
plied^ ^^with which we ought to be acquainted; 
but we ought also to know its dangers. Char- 
coal^ when burned in a close room^ will speed- 
ily suffocate those who are confined with it ; 
especially sleepers. Many have in this way^ 
unhappily, lost their lives." 



44 



DIFFERENT SORTS OF TIMBER TREES. 

As Mr. Longhurst had travelled, and seen < 
many of those trees abroad, of which others of | 
us had only been able to obtain representa- | 
tions and descriptions, I was requested still to 
lead the conversation respecting Bintish timber 
trees ; and reserve the account foreign woods 
for him. 

There are/' I said, when we next met, 
about twenty-five different sorts of timber 
trees grown in Britain, for the varied occasions 
of man. These are, the Oak, the Ash, the 
Aspen, the Elm, the Beech, the Lime, the 
Chestnut, the Walnut, the Sycamore, the 
Poplar, the Plane, the Maple, the Hornbeam, 



VARIETIES OF TIMBER TREES. 45 



the Pine^ the Larch^ the Spruce Fir^ the 
Lancewood^ the Holly, the Box, the Yew, 
the Willow, the common and weeping Moun- 
tain Ash, the Birch, the Hazel, and the Alder." 
How beautiful," observed Mr. Longhurst, 
and how accurately adapted, not only to 
man's necessities, but to his comforts and lux- 
uries, is this store of materials, which the Crea- 
tor has provided ! It would have been doing 
much to have supplied us with Oak, with Iron, 
and with one sort of Stone : but God, having 
given to man the inclination and the power to 
find out ^ witty inventions,' and endued his 
hand and head with skill to execute them. 
He has also provided an almost endless variety 
of substances, with infinitely varied properties, 
on which that invention, that skill and ability, 
might be exercised, to produce the multiplied 
blessings of civilized life." 



46 EXCESSIVE CULTIVATION 

And I think/' said Mrs. Heathfield, that 
those persons err greatly, who, losing sight of 
this grand display of Almighty power and be- 
neficence, and, forgetting the purpose for which 
the ability given to man must have been de- 
signed, would leave all unemployed, and con- 
temn, as some well-meaning persons do, many 
of the useful, and nearly all the polite arts." 

I am happy to believe," said Mr. Long- 
hurst, that sentiments of this sort are fast 
wearing out amongst us. I hope that the con- 
trary extreme, an excessive cultivation of these 
arts, and those luxurious habits by which pow- 
erful empires have been ruined, may not over- 
throw old England in like manner." 

It were better," said I, " to content our- 
selves with the food, furniture, and apparel, of 
an ancient Briton, than to lower ourselves into 
a dependence on luxuries for our happiness ; a 



OF THE ARTS. 



47 



certain sign that the ruin of moral feelings and^ 
of course^ of real happiness^ is at hand. But^ 
perhaps^ some of om^ youthful hearers may 
have failed to see the connection between a sub- 
ject of this sort^ and the description of timber 
trees^ which we have in hand." 

I think/' said Mr. Longhurst^ that they 
will be able to perceive something of it^ as we 
proceed in our inquiries concerning the nature 
and uses of those substances. Let us hear^ 
Sir^ a few particulars respecting those you have 
named." 



48 



THE ASH. 

The Ash/' I proceeded to remark, is one 
of our most elegant forest trees. It has not the 
grandeur of the oak ; its beauties being rather 
those of slender gracefulness and airy attitude. 
The leaves are in pairs, long and narrow in 
their form, and serrated at the edge." 

Serrated! What does that mean ?" inquired 
Mr. Longhurst, looking at the lads. 
Silence ensued. 

What is the Latin for a saw ?" demanded 
Mr. Longhurst. After a short pause, and a 
little w^hispering amongst the young folks, 
Harry gave the word serra. 

Now," said Mr. Longhurst, I think my 
previous question will not appear a hard one. 



% 




Page 



ASH. 



THE ASH. 49 

What does the word serrated mean^ when ap- 
plied to the edge of a leaf?" 

I know now !" said Harry ; it means 
notched y like a saw." 

And^ in fact/' said Mr. Longhurst^ as 
your common Latin had furnished you with 
the word serra^ you knew before ; but your 
knowledge was not^ by quick application, so 
ready as it might have been. As most leaves 
are so formed, serrated is a word of frequent 
use in botany. 

The timber of the ash, unlike that of other 
trees, has the advantage of being nearly as 
good when young, as when old : it is hard, 
tough, and so very elastic, that it may readily be 
bent round in a circle : hence coopers are glad 
to avail themselves of it for the hoops of their 
tubs and barrels. It is also called the husband- 
man's tree^ nothing being equal to it for agri- 

E 



50 



THE ASH, 



cultural implements ; for poles^ ladders, and 
long handles ; and for purposes which require 
strength, length, and flexibility, with compa- 
rative lightness. Ship builders, also, use it 
much ; and when, about the root, or stool as it 
is called, the timber has become knotty and 
variegated in its grain, it is in request by me- 
chanics, for cabinet work, on the continent. 
I believe that ash is useful at almost any 
growth, from the yard-and-half twig, employed 
in the correction of naughty boys" — 

Or^der ! Order I " whispered Frederick, co- 
louring at the allusion. 

I begged pardon ; and continued by observ- 
ing that the thinnings of plantations, and the 
suckers that spring up from the roots of young 
trees, or from the stools of those that have 
been felled, are excellent for the purposes I 
had mentioned, namely, hoops, hop-poles, and 
such things. 



THE ASH. 



51 



I believe/' said Mr. Longhurst^ that^ in 
the northern parts of Lancashire, where grass 
is scarce, the small farmers frequently cut off 
the tops of ash trees, to feed their cows with 
the leaves and tender twigs." 

I have heard/' said Mrs. Heathfield, that 
the leaves of ash trees have been used for a less 
commendable purpose than that, — to mix with 
those of tea, to defraud, and perhaps to injure 
the health of those who consume that article." 

That practice/' I observed, has long been 
forbidden by act of parliament ; and, I should 
hope, is not now much in the usage of dealers ; 
for, although these leaves are certainly not 
poisonous, they are an injurious substitute for 
tea. The bark of the ash is sometimes em- 
ployed in the tanning of calf-skins, and also in 
dyeing. As fuel, it is remarkable, that the 
wood of this tree will burn nearly as well in 
its green state as when dry, 

E 2 



52 



THE ASH. 



The ash rarely attains the bulk of other 
timber trees : only a few instances of large 
dimensions are recorded ; but among these we 
meet with one of the astonishing girth of forty- 
two feet. Another is spoken of as nearly se- 
venteen feet in circumference ; and a third is 
described as being eight feet in diameter^ 
which my young friends will readily estimate 
at about twenty-four feet in circumference. 
Its bloom has a beautiful appearance ; but it 
drops its leaves very early in autumn ; and in 
old age has none of that grandeur which the 
oak preserves. 

From a species of dwarf ash^ growing wild 
in Calabria^ manna is procured, by cutting the 
bark, and collecting the juice, which runs out, 
and forms the concrete substance I have just 
alluded to." 



53 



THE MOUNTAIN ASH. 

The Mountain Ash is quite a different 
tree. Its leaves, indeed, are shaped some- 
what like those of the other, and the wood is 
tough and flexible ; but it is soft, and soon 
decays. It is a slow-growing tree, and never 
becomes large. Its white flowers, and bright 
red berries, make it rather an ornamental tree 
in a shrubbery. It is a beautiful object on 
the hills of the north, intermingled as it is 
with the dark pines and waving birch. But 
we should now speak of a far more stately and 
important tree." 



54 



THE ELM. 

The Elm has lofty dignity, combined 
with elegance. It rises to a greater height 
than English trees in general do. Its foliage, 
though the leaves are small, is ample ; yet it 
hangs lightly on the aspiring branches, and 
forms a fine subject for the painter and land- 
scape engraver. It is the first considerable 
tree, which introduces a bright and cheerful 
green in spring ; but, before this, its boughs 
are darkened with innumerable flowers of a 
dusky hue, which, indeed, are often as full as 
the foliage. 

Elm timber is valuable for a vast variety 
of purposes ; but, as it grows quicker and is 
inferior in quality to oak, it bears a much 



ELM. 



Page 54. 



THE ELM. 



55 



lower price. It is chiefly employed for wea- 
ther boards to out-buildings, waggons, carts, 
mill-wheels, water-pipes, furniture called Wind- 
sor chairs, and for coffins, because it is pecu- 
liarly durable in moist situations. It burns 
slowly ; and as it splits with difficulty, it re- 
ceives nails and iron-work with advantage. 
Some writers tell us that bread and beer, in 
times of scarcity, have been made from the 
inner bark of this tree." 

A time of scarcity indeed !" said Mr. 
Longhurst. 

It is better known and valued — the bark 
I mean — as a medicine ; an excellent decoc- 
tion is obtained from it, which is useful in 
many complaints." 

Speaking of the Elm," said Mr. Long- 
hurst, reminds me, as it is a tree which bears 
transplanting, perhaps, better than any other. 



56 



TRANSPLANTING FORESTS 



of some svirprising schemes^ which have been 
executed by enterprising men in that way. — 
Ladies and Gentlemen^ did you ever hear of 
transiplanting a forest?'' 

A wondering negative was the reply. 
The thing has been done^ and to a very 
considerable extent/' said Mr. Longhurst. So 
long ago as the time when Theophrastus^ the 
ancient Greek writer on rural economy^ livedo 
the Greeks were in the habit of removing full- 
grown trees^ when it was their pleasure so to 
do. The Romans moved elms twenty feet 
high to their vineyards^ as supports for their 
vines — so says Pliny; and Seneca^ I think, 
tells us, that an entire orchard of full-grown 
trees was removed near the villa of Scipio 
Africanus ; and that, in a year or two, they 
bore fruit as well as ever. I fancy this prac- 
tice was afterwards neglected for ages, as im- 
practicable, or useless ; but we hear of it 



TRANSPLANTING FORESTS. 57 



again in more modern times. Count Maurice^ 
of Nassau^ instead of walking into a wood, 
made a wood walk into his garden, in 1636. 
This was in Brazil, where he was then gover- 
nor. The place being naturally as destitute 
of trees and shrubs, at least near his palace, as 
was the roof of that building, he boldly trans- 
planted seven hundred cocoa-nut trees, some 
of them fifty feet high ; and of course, having 
done this, he found no difficulty in adding as 
large a number of lesser fruit trees and shrubs, 
as he pleased. The trees were seventy or 
eighty years old, and had to be carried four 
miles by land and water ; but skill and perse- 
verance overcome every obstacle. But I shall 
be happy now, if Mr. Burton will proceed." 

I remarked, in addition, that the most noted 
of these transplanters was Louis XIV. who 
removed an entire forest, the Bois de Bou- 
logne, from Versailles to its present site, a dis- 



58 TRANSPLANTING TREES. 

tance of more than seven miles. The great 
transplanting machine employed on these occa- 
sions, remained at Versailles, till probably 
about the time of the French Revolution." 

One of the young ladies observed, that she 
had found difficulty in removing a few lilacs 
and roses only to a border across the path, 
and that many of them had died. 

The roots," replied Mr. Longhurst, were 
probably too much cut and exposed ; perhaps 
nearly all the thread-like fibres, by which 
plants subsist, were torn away.^' 

Any tree," I said, would travel round 
the world, with as little damage or danger as 
it encounters in standing still, if the finer roots, 
and the earth about the roots, remained undis- 
turbed. Old Evelyn says that he has moved 
elms as big as his body, by engines, without 
injury to any part of the tree." 



t 



59 



THE BEECH. 

The next tree on my list^ I see^ is the 
Beech. Though inferior in elegance and state- 
liness to the elm^ this tree is by no means 
without beauty. The leaves are about the 
size^ and not much unlike, those of the com- 
mon elm, and they frequently remain on the 
tree, in a brown decayed state, during the 
greater part of the winter : although the beech 
is, properly, deciduousJ^ 

I made a short pause at this word ; and 
Harry, perceiving my expectation, obliged me 
by saying, that deciduous plants are those which 
shed their leaves^ unlike evergreens, which 
retain them* 



60 



BEECH MAST. 



The wood of the beech is close-grained^ 
brittle, and hard ; capable of being manufac- 
tured with the utmost neatness, and therefore 
much used by turners, cabinet-makers, and 
others. Carpenters' tools are commonly han- 
dled with this wood. The fruit is a kind of 
nut, enclosed in a prickly husk, and is called 
beech mast'' 

Mast," said Mr. Longhurst, is a word 
applied generally to the fruit of the oak, beech, 
and chestnut. Johnson derives it from the 
Saxon mcesty and I think that the Germans 
had it probably from the Latin mastico, to mas- 
ticate, or chew. Beech mast is somewhat 
more palatable than horse-chestnuts or acorns ; 
but is not very wholesome, if eaten in too 
great quantities. When dried and powdered^ 
I have seen it, in the Grecian islands, made 
into very tolerable bread ; and the inhabitants 



BEECH. 



USES OF THE BEECH. 6l 



of Scio were once enabled to sustain a memo- 
rable siege^ by the beech mast which their 
island supplied. It has been roasted, as a 
substitute for coffee. When pressed, the nuts 
yield an excellent oil, for the lamp or the 
table. It is used by the lower classes in Sile- 
sia, instead of butter ; and the cakes, which 
remain after pressure, are far from being des- 
picable food, for man or beast. The leaves, in 
some countries, are collected and used, instead 
of feathers, for beds : so, you see, a beech tree 
has many uses." 

Indeed it has," said Frederick. I sup- 
pose the timber will build a man a house ; the 
roots and branches supply him with firing ; 
the fruit gives him coffee for breakfast, cakes 
for supper, and oil to light him to his chamber, 
where he has beech wood for a bedstead, and 
beech leaves for a bed !" 



62 THE PINE, OR FIR. 

" Well remembered, Frederick/' said I. 

Bedstead, bedding, house, coal, candle, and 
victuals, go far towards what, in some coun- 
tries, are called necessaries; in o\\\ex^ luxuries y 
or comforts'' 



THE PINE, OR FIR. 

We now walked into Mr. Longhurst's plan- 
tations ; and, after some desultory conversa- 
tion on the trees which met the eye singly, we 
came to a very fine grove of firs. 

Here," I said, " we see a small patch of 
that dark shaggy coat, with which Nature has 
clothed, as with a circling garment, the bleak 
and frozen regions that surround the arctic 



i 

I 

i 
I 




THE PINE, OR FIR. 63 

line. A very large portion of the superficial 
space of this our globe is thus enveloped. Of 
these Pines, or Firs, therefore, unmixed with 
other trees, there are far more extensive forests, 
than of any kind of wood besides. The north 
of Europe, of America, and of Asia, are man- 
tled in this same black shroud, from the tem- 
perate latitudes to the shining borders of the 
polar seas, where dwarf birch, the last shrub 
that lives, makes a sort of final edging to the 
vegetation of the earth." 

When we consider," said Mr. Longhurst, 
" that the wood of these pines is the most 
combustible timber that grows ; the fullest of 
juices, which feed the taper and the hearth ; 
and when we consider farther, that these forests 
extend beyond the very regions ' where life 
itself goes out, ' the immediate agency and in- 
fluence of Divine wisdom, power, and goodness. 



64 VARIETIES OF THE PINE. 

will appear in full ; and surely then we cannot 
but have the most lively and grateful impres- 
sions of His parental care for the vast family 
of man." 

This," I replied^ is the true use of human 
knowledge, and the noblest and most beneficial 
employment of human reason ; to find out God 
in the grand arrangements of nature." 

" Of pines, or firs, there are many species. 
The principal, I believe, are, the Scottish Fir, 
the Silver Fir, the White Pine, the Cedar of 
Lebanon, the Larch, and the Spruce Fir ; 
others are said to be allied to the pines in their 
appearance or their uses ; as the Yew, the 
Cypress, the Juniper, and the Arbor-vitae. 
They are all of the same order of cone-bearing 
trees ; they are generally evergreens ; and the 
wood is resinous, or bitter ; but the difference 
between some of them, as between the Scot- 




Page 62. 



PINE. 



USEFULNESS OF DEAL TIMBER. 65 

tish Fir^ or common Deal, and the Yew, is very ( 
great. The Scottish and Norwegian Firs, or 
Pines, have now become, — from the scarcity 
of oak, and the comparative difficulty with / 
which that and the harder woods are worked, 
— the timber in most general use and request 
by all our carpenters and builders. The whole 
wood work of modern houses, and the greater 
part of plain and useful furniture, are now 
composed of deal^ as a matter of course ; and 
a carpenter would stare with perplexity at be- 
ing required to execute the same work in oak 
or chestnut." 

Why should he wonder at that ?" asked 
Frederick. 

Because, perhaps, neither his cash nor 
his tools would hold out to purchase and pre- 
pare those expensive and stubborn materials. 
Fir timber, though cheap and easily worked, 

F 



66 MASTS OF SHIPS. 

possesses great strength and durability ; and, 
though liable to split, sometimes disastrously, 
as every bungling nail-driver knows, it is capa- 
ble of being worked with the utmost neatness, 
and even with elegance." 

There is another purpose," added Mr. 
Longhurst, " to which pine timber is applied, 
and I scarcely know what other trees could 
supply its place : I mean the masts of ships." 

I should have noticed," I rejoined, '^''that 
the structure of the pine is that of a straight 
undivided stem, from the root to the topmost 
twig ; and the tree thus often attains the sur- 
prising altitude of two hundred feet ! Here 
then is a mast ready huilt ; and certainly no 
tree of the forest can shew a spire so tall, so 
straight, so strong, and, at the same time, so 
light as this." 

I am thinking," said Mr. Longhurst, that 



TURPENTINE. — TAR. 67 

our navy is indebted to the pine for something 
of almost as much consequence as this. What 
can it be ?" 

I was obliged to reply myself to this ques- 
tion. Tar and pitch are the painty glue^ 
and puttey^ of a vessel. Without these^ the 
cordage would soon decay^ and water would 
quickly enter at innumerable chinks. This 
leads us to notice substances extracted from 
the pine ; these are turpentine^ tar^ pitchy and 
resin. 

A pine tree is a sort of cask of turpentine^ 
which may be tapped in any of the summer 
months ; and that useful liquid will flow out^ 
and continue to exude, for a long time, abun- 
dantly. Tar is obtained by burning, or rather 
baking the roots, or other parts of the tree, in 
a sort of pit, well covered over with tiles ; at 
the bottom, is a hole, with under-drains, into 

F 2 



68 



PITCH.— RESIN. 



which the tar descends as the heat extricates it 
from the wood^ and then runs off by the drains 
into barrels placed for its reception^ which^ 
when filled^ are bunged up ready for sale. If 
the tar be boiled^ so as to free it from watery 
and other fluid parts^ it becomes pitch. Nor- 
way, as it yields the best pine timber, produces 
also the best of these extracts. Turpentine, 
when reduced to dryness, leaves resin; and 
if violently stirred, as it boils with water, it 
forms white or yellow resin. 

One of the lads had strayed away a little 
during these observations, and was seen busily 
employed in endeavouring to obtain a practi- 
cal demonstration of the facts advanced, by 
boring a hole, with a carpenter's auger, in one 
of the firs of the plantation. 

That will do, Frederick," said Mr. Long- 
hurst : and I would rather the operation had 



SAP VESSELS, 



69 



been postponed^ until a decree of the present 
assembly^ in whicb I possess a casting vote^ 
had been obtained." 

I am sorry if I have done any harm^ Sir/' 
said Frederick ; but I think the tree will 
not die from the loss of its turpentine, I do 
not see any." 

You expected then/' said Mr. L. a full 
stream^ as big as the hole you have made^ to 
start from the tree^ like beer from a spigot ? — 
Now^ think a little. A barrel is a hollow thing, 
which, hem^ filled with a fluid, and nothing 
else, naturally loses it in a continued stream, 
through any aperture made in it. But do not 
you know that the bark you have pierced 
encloses hard timber, as well as sap ; which sap 
is contained in minute capillary or hair-like 
vessels, or pores, which extend up and down 
the trunk ? These, therefore, must have time 



70 CONVEYANCE OF TIMBER 

to empty themselves ; and you will see^ if you 
examine this tree to-morrow^ that a consider- 
able quantity of sap^ or turpentine^ has flowed 
out which otherwise would have gone — as, in- 
deed, I could have wished it — to the support 
of the leaves and branches." 

I remarked that our English firs are by no 
means so succulent, or juicy, as those of the 
North ; and that the one just now pierced was 
not a tenth part the size of the tree from 
which turpentine is there obtained. 

I should like to hear," said Mrs. Long- 
hurst, in what way these immense trees are 
conveyed to the sea side : they do not all 
grow, I suppose, on the very coast ?" 

Harry appeared impatient to answer this 
question, by saying that machines, called tim- 
ber carriages^ were used. 

In this country, they are, undoubtedly. 



TO THE SEA. 



71 



used/' said I ; " and we shall be glad, on a 
future occasion, to hear exactly how these are 
constructed and used ; but I fear that one of 
those vehicles would make more haste than 
good speed down the sides of a Norwegian 
mountain, supposing it could, by any process, 
be drawn up it." 

I will endeavour," said Mr. Longhurst, 
to explain the modes of conveyance adopted, 
which I have myself seen. Pine forests are 
not usually so low and level as this small plan- 
tation of mine. The sides of rugged hills, and 
the brow of many a giddy precipice, are clothed 
with the finest fir timber. On the southern 
shores of the Baltic, indeed, the river Memel 
conveys, without much difficulty, the timber 
there produced, to the sea, as the bed of that 
river, and the surrounding country, are free 
from any particular declivities. But, not long 



72 TIMBER-FLOATS ON THE RHINE 



agOy the largest pines of the Norwegian moun- 
tains were committed to the torrents^ which 
rush through their ravines. Dashing down 
the cataracts of Trolh^tta^ they w^ere fre- 
quently shivered to atoms by the concussions 
of their unguided and inevitable descent ; and 
the damage done to some of the finest trees 
by this method was such^ that^ at lengthy saw- 
mills were erected^ to divide the trees into 
planks of a more manageable size. 

But^ on the Rhine^ another plan is adopt- 
ed. Several thousand trees are tied together^ 
in the form of a raft^ sixty or seventy feet 
broad^ and nearly one thousand in length. The 
rowers and workmen sometimes amount to 
seven or eight hundred. Poultry^ P^gs^ and 
all sorts of provisions and conveniences^ are 
taken on board the principal raft. Many 
smaller rafts are commonly tied to the greater^ 



SLIDE OF ALPNACH. 



73 



to have the benefit of its pilotage. The guid- 
ance of this enormous floating island of tim- 
ber is^ indeed^ a business of no small anxiety 
and difficulty^ owing to the abrupt windings^ 
the rocks, and the shallows, of the river. Thus 
they make their way to Holland, generally with 
little damage : but the money needful to un- 
dertake the construction of a raft of this sort 
is said to be about 35,000/. sterling. 

But the most astonishing method of trans- 
porting timber, that I ever heard of, was that 
by the slide of Alpnach, in Switzerland. A 
bold speculator entertained the daring idea of 
conveying the pines from the top of Mount 
Pilatus to the Lake of Lucerne, a distance of 
nearly nine miles, by means of an inclined 
plane, or sloping wooden road, extending the 
whole way ! The slide consisted of a trough, 
or gutter, formed of twenty-five thousand 



74 SLIDE OF ALPNACH. 

pines ; it was six feet broad^ and from three 
to six feet in depth : its length was forty-four 
thousand English feet. This had to be brought 
over the summits of rocks^ or along their sides, 
or under ground, or over deep chasms ; but 
the perseverance of the designer, M. Rupp, 
triumphed over what most men would have 
called impossibilities ; nor was it much longer 
than a year and a half before it was completed. 
The trees descended from their heights with 
a rapidity almost inconceivable. The larger 
pines, which were about one hundred feet in 
length, performed the nine miles in about six 
minutes ! Young Gentlemen, how would you 
have liked a ride on one of those long-backed 
wooden horses ?" 

O Sir, said Harry, it makes me tremble 
to think of it. I remember once sliding down 
the banisters in our hall ; and I thought then 



THE LARCH 



75 



that I went faster than when I fell out of the 
hay-loft into the straw-yard^ at the farm." 

When you fell/' said Mr. Longhurst^ you 
were not conscious of the descent at all ; in 
the other case, you knew more of the matter 
than was agreeable ; but half a mile on one of 
M. Rupp's diligences would have served you 
with all the travelling you might need in your 
lifetime." 



THE LARCH. 

Is this a fir tree ?" asked Amelia. It 
appears like one, at a distance ; and yet its 
branches droop downwards ; and I think it 
loses its leaves in the winter." 

This/' I said, ^^is a Larch ; and a remark- 



76 



THE LARCH 



ably fine specimen it is^ for English growth ; 
although, I perceive, it has passed its prime, 
and the leading shoot at the top is bent, if not 
broken." 

I have reason to think," said Mr. Long- 
hurst, *^^that this tree was planted by no less a 
personage than King James I. This garden, 
we know, formed part of his favourite domain, 
which he enclosed with a wall ten miles in ex- 
tent. About five hundred yards of the wall still 
form the boundary of this estate ; and a mile- 
stone inserted in it, shews us the date, 1621. 
The mount, pond, and opposite moat, would 
scarcely have been executed by any one not 
possessed, like the builder of the wall, of royal 
enterprise and resources ; and the trees all 
bear an appearance of some two hundred years' 
standing. This solitary and stately larch, 
dropping its graceful feathery branches into 




Page 75. 



LARCH. 



USES OF THE LARCH 



77 



the water, which it seems to love^ is a favourite 
object with me. I only fear that some of those 
strong westerly winds^ which have already 
given it a leading attitude^ will^ one day^ send 
it into the water beneath. I believe it is from 
this tree that the commodity called Venice 
turpentine is procured by incision ; I do not, 
however^ wdsh the matter to be proved by an 
operation." 

The young operator looked a solemn acqui- 
escence in the injunction. 

I then proceeded to state a few particulars, 
respecting the uses of larch. 

As oak and chestnut were the timber usu- 
ally employed for grand buildings in Britain^ 
in former ages ; so larch^ on the continent, 
was, and is stilly most in request. Of this 
almost incorruptible wood^ the Gothic halls 
and castles of Italy and Germany, and the 



78 



QUALITIES OF THE LARCH. 



ancient chateaus of France^ were almost always 
constructed^ — I mean those inner parts^ where 
wood was needful. The colour is a pale cedar 
red ; sometimes elegantly varied. It is capa- 
ble of a high finish, and carves well. No 
insect will touch it for food or residence^ on 
account of its bitter resinous flavour ; and it is 
said that it resists water for ages^ as also fire 
itself for a long time.^ On panels of larch^ 
the pictures of the best Flemish and Italian 
masters are painted ; and to this^ their preser- 
vation is^ no doubt^ greatly owing. 

It is a remarkable fact^ indeed/' said 

* On this subject, however, doctors disagree surpris- 
ingly. Under the article Larch, in Useful Knoicledge^ 
by the Rev. W. Bingley, it is said, that the very combustible 
nature of this wood renders it unfit for building pur- 
poses; whilst, in the treatise on timber trQe^^m Entertaming 
Knowledge y it is stated, that larch is nearly proof not only 
against water, but against fire ! 



f 



THECEDAR. 79 

Mr. Longhurst, that buildings constructed of 
this wood ages ago^ exhibit no symptoms of 
decay ; this I know to be the case^ by actual 
inspection of many noted continental struc- 
tures. — In St. Petersburgh^ the chief use of 
larch is for the Russian navy^ which is built^ 
I understand^ almost entirely of it. The 
Muscovites have also the art of making fine 
white gloves from the inner bark." 



THE CEDAR. 

It happened that a small Cedar of Lebanon 
occupied a clump near the end of the shrub- 
bery ; and Mr. Longhurst^ having seen many 
magnificent specimens abroad^ gratified the 
party by a little account of this majestic and 
interesting tree. 



80 CEDAR OF LEBANON. 

We have spoken/' said he^ of oak^ chest- 
nut^ and larch^ as the sorts of timber chiefly 
employed in Europe^ during the middle ages. 
But the cedar was the tree selected by the 
earliest architects, for the most sacred and 
magnificent of their buildings. Of Solomon's 
temple, which was built about a thousand 
years before the Christian aera^ it is said, that 
^ the cedar of the house within was carved with 
knops, and flowers ; all was of cedar ; there 
was no stone seen.' Ancient shipping, also, 
was frequently built of this timber. No doubt 
that the qualities of strength and durability, 
coupled w^ith the advantage of readily yielding 
to the tool, were the reasons which induced 
the early builders to select it. It was also 
then, in many parts, the most plentiful and 
the largest timber that could be procured. 

But now, I believe, even in their native soils, 

> 



Page 



CEDAK OF LEBANON. 



RED CEDAR. 



81 



they are scarcely more abundant than in 
England. The mountains of Lebanon have 
still a few cedars^ and these are of great size, 
thirty-six feet^ or more, in circumference. 

There is a peculiar character and air, in 
the masses of foliage which belong to this tree 
— a sort of flaky structure : the branches having 
a flattish form, and these lying in a level direc- 
tion over each other, give it an appearance, 
which none can mistake, when they have once 
seen it. When it has attained its full size, 
and is in its prime, it is indeed the most ma- 
jestic of trees." 

Is this the wood of which pencils are 
made ?" asked Harriet. 

No, my dear. That is the Red Cedar, 
a species of Juniper, which grows in North 
America and the West Indies. On account 
of its powerful odour, and its property of re- 

G 



82 



SPRUCE FIR. 



sisting the attacks of insects^ it was used^ some 
years ago^ for drawers and cabinets. It is 
much softer than the cedar of Lebanon^ and is 
by no means so valuable a tree. — Mr. Burton^ 
what other pines have you on your list ? " 



THE SPRUCE FIR. 

Of those which are strictly pines/' I said, 
I shall only mention one more, — the Nor- 
way Spruce Fir. This tree is said to be the 
loftiest of the pine tribe in Europe. In its 
native country, it has been known to reach the 
height of 150 to 200 feet : in Britain, where 
it has been known for upwards of a century, it 
does not attain so great an altitude ; but is 
much esteemed for its pleasing appearance. 



SPRUCE FIR. 



83 



the excellent shelter it affords in particular 
situations, and its being a handsome ever- 
green, proper for ornamental plantations. Its 
dark green narrow leaves, pointed at the ends, 
closely garnishing the younger branches, and 
its pendent cones, eight or ten inches in length, 
excite admiration. The timber, called white 
dealy is remarkably free from knots and ble- 
mishes, and is, therefore, valued by joiners, 
and much used for musical instruments ; but 
it is by no means sufficiently durable for the 
builder's purposes. The turpentine produced 
by the spruce fir, when boiled and cleansed, 
forms the substance called Burgundy pitch. 
Spruce beer is prepared from the tender twigs.'' 



G 2 



84 



THE YEW. 

Now, as to the distant relations of the 
pine family, we must introduce one or two of 
them. The Yew tree, formerly very plentiful 
in England, and very celebrated also in its 
foliage, which consists of slender needle-shaped 
leaves, resembles not a little the firs ; and, 
like them too, it bears the sort of fruit called 
cones ; but, in other respects, it is very differ- 
ent; as in the shape and structure of the 
tree, the nature of the wood, and the man- 
ner of its growth. It sheds its bark every 
year, but retains its leaves. The berries, about 
the size of a small nut, are formed of the 
most delicate wax-like materials, and contain 
a transparent glairy fluid, like the white of an 



Page 

YEAV. 



QUALITIES OF THE YEW. 



85 



egg. They have a sweetish inoffensive taste^ 
and are said to be harmless ; but I should ra- 
ther advise their being avoided as food. The 
leaves are highly poisonous ; and^ it is said^ 
too^ that rain dripping from the branches^ 
and even the air in the vicinity^ of the yew, 
will prove injurious. But the wood of the 
yew is sufficiently valuable to compensate for 
much worse qualities than these. It is almost 
impenetrably hard, and most beautifully rich 
in its colour and veins. But it was not so 
much its beauty, as its other and more im- 
portant qualities of toughness and elasticity, 
which rendered it famous in history." 

The yew tree famous in history?" re- 
peated Frederick, with much surprise. 

Famous in this way, Frederick : before 
the use of fire-arms, it was in constant request 
for bows ; in the use of which, I am sure you 



86 WARLIKE USE OF THE YEW. 

know^ that English archers^ or bowmen^ were 
particularly skilful and celebrated. By a law^ 
made in the reign of Edward IV. every Eng- 
lishman was directed to have a bow^ of his own 
height, made^ if possible, of yew^ or of wych- 
hazel — a sort of elm, — of ash, or awburne, 
which we now call laburnum. The English- 
man then prided himself more in the use of 
the bow than in any thing else ; and he would 
bend one of a size and strength that others 
could not manage at all. The arrow called 
the cloth-yard was the weapon, discharged 
from the yew bow, that gained so many of 
those battles, which Englishmen have to talk 
of. At Crecy, Azincourt, and Poitiers, the 
bows and cross-bows of our ancient country- 
men did wonders. I remember that Frois- 
sart, the very entertaining historian of those 
times, speaking of the battle of Crecy, says. 



WARLIKE USE OF THE YEW. 



87 



' There were of the Genoese cross-bows about 
fifteen thousand, but they were so dog-weary 
of marching that day six leagues, with those 
same timber cross-bows, that they said they 
had more need of rest than of battle. How- 
ever, at length they approached and made a 
great leap and cry, to abash the English ; but 
these stood and stirred not for all that. Then 
the Genoese made another leap and a fell 
cry, and stepped forward a little ; but still the 
English moved not a foot. Then, the third 
time, they leaped and cried; and, coming 
within bow-shot, shot fiercely with their cross- 
bows. Then slipt forth the English archers, 
and let fly their arrows, so wholly and so thick, 
that it seemed like snow.' The Genoese, in 
fact, and the French, whom they were hired 
to serve, had the worst of it, as you know 
was the case in this battle ; and so it was 



88 ANCIENT BOWS AND ARROWS. 

in many others^ wherein the excellence of the 
weapon, and the courage, skill, and strength, 
of those who used it, were superior to, and 
triumphant over, their most formidable ene- 
mies." 

Were bows and arrows thrown aside," 
said Harry, as soon as gunpowder was in- 
vented?" 

No," I replied. " They continued to be 
the favourite weapon for more than a hundred 
years afterwards ; indeed, the guns first made 
were so clumsy and dangerous to handle, and 
so little serviceable, that they often scared, or 
wounded, those whom they were intended to 
befriend. 

" But a word or two more of the yew-tree 
itself. It has often attained a vast magnitude 
in Britain. One, quite hollow, in Perthshire, 
measured fifty-six feet in circumference ; one. 



REMARKABLE YEWS. 



89 



in Braburne churchyard^ in Kent, sixty feet ; 
and another, at Hedsor, in Buckinghamshire, 
upwards of eighty feet in girth ! When, how- 
ever, these prodigious trees shall have perish- 
ed, it does not seem likely that there should 
be a succession of them ; for, notwithstanding 
the vast strength and durability of the timber, 
the slowness of its growth discourages even 
the most patient planter." 

How well do I remember," said Mrs. 
Longhurst, my grandfather's yew-tree won- 
ders, at Cliphurst House. There was a yew- 
hedge, one hundred yards long, and, I sup- 
pose, six feet thick, and about a man's height, 
which was so smoothly shorn and so solid, that 
I have seen lions, bears, dogs, and horses, 
standing on the top of it, and apparently 
ignorant that it was not the solid earth ! 

You are not more astonished," continued 



90 GROTESQUE YEW FENCES. 

Mrs. Longhurst^ who saw that wonder and 
curiosity were lifting the brows of all the 
young party^ — certainly not more surprised^ 
though less alarmed^ than I was on the even- 
ing when I first beheld that sight. It was 
towards the dusk^ in autumn. The place was 
quite strange to me^ as it was my first visit ; 
my aunt^ then herself a girl^ took me into the 
garden^ and shewed me those forms^ distinctly 
enough seen in the moonlight to alarm me. 
She foolishly tried to make a regular fright of 
the appearance^ which those shapes presented ; 
and assured me that they were^ indeed^ most 
strange and awful creatures. What they stood 
there for^ she could not exactly tell ; but^ she 
added^ ' I really think^ to-night^ that they 
will have something to do with you^ (y^w.)' I 
entreated her to take me in ; but she insisted 
on leading me nearer^ that we might see if 



GROTESQUE YEW FENCES. 91 

they began tomove^ and listen if they breathed 
hard, which was a sure sign they would be 
stirring soon. The next morning explained 
all : these were yew-trees, cut, as was then 
the fashion, in the shapes of animals. They 
would, of course, only move when the wind 
shook them ; and, I suppose, she could only 
hear them breathe as the wind whistled through 
them. 

" The practice of clipping yew-trees into 
those fantastic shapes was at one time common 
in every gentleman's garden and fore-court ; 
but better sense and taste have long caused it 
to be discontinued ; excepting here and there 
in a church-yard. The Romans, it appears, 
were pleased with the same folly. — Mr. Bur- 
ton, have you any thing to say respecting the 
Cypress?" 



92 



THE CYPRESS. 

This tree/' I replied^ is an evergreen ; 
and^ I suppose, on this account^ and because of 
the imperishable nature of the wood^ it has 
been, in many nations, considered as an emblem 
of immortality, and therefore commonly plant- 
ed over the graves of the dead, and carried in 
funereal processions. It is said to last as long 
as stone itself ; and I have read that the doors 
of St. Peter's Church, at Rome, which had been 
formed of this material in the time of the Great 
Constantine, were not at all injured by time, 
when taken down, eleven hundred years after- 
wards, by Pope Eugenius, to be replaced by 
gates of brass. 



THE CYPRESS. 



93 



On account of its durability^ it is pre- 
ferred for building, in all places where it grows 
in any abundance. Being very elastic, it also 
answers well for musical instruments ; and for 
furniture, it is at least equal to mahogany ; for, 
though less beautiful in colour, it is stronger ; 
equally resists the worm ; and by its odour, 
repels insects from the contents of chests and 
cabinets made of it." 

The Greeks, I believe," said Mr. Long- 
hurst, buried the remains of their heroes in 
coffins of cypress ; and the chests in which 
Egyptian mummies are found are generally of 
this wood." 



94 



THE DOUGLAS AND LAMBERT 

PINES. 

I believe/' continued Mr. Longhurst, 
we have taken some notice of the most noted 
and useful of the pine family. I have^ how- 
ever, read of, but not seen, two other sorts, 
called the Douglas and the Lambert pines, 
which may as well be referred to ; as, I sup- 
pose, if they were natives of Europe, they 
would be undoubted kings of the forest. Mr. 
David Douglas was sent out by a Philoso- 
phical Society of London, to discover and de- 
scribe new plants on the west coast of North 
America. He returned in the autumn of 1827j, 
and brought with him a valuable addition to 



DOUGLAS AND LAMBERT PINES. 95 



our knowledge of the vegetable kingdom. 
Amongst his discoveries were two new sorts 
of pine. That called after his name^ — the 
Douglas Pine^ — grows to the height of two 
hundred and thirty feet, and is more than fifty 
feet in circumference at the base. It has a 
rough spongy bark, in some places one inch 
thick, in others so much as twelve inches. In 
foliage it much resembles the spruce ; and it 
bears small cones. The timber, which is very 
heavy, is of good quality. Immense forests 
of this pine are growing between the Stoney 
Mountains and the shores of the Pacific Ocean. 
The Lambert Pine was found in North Cali- 
fornia, and is a most majestic tree. Mr. Doug- 
las was so fortunate as to find one, which had 
been blown down, and which, therefore, he 
could accurately measure. It was two hun- 
dred and fifteen feet in length, fifty-eight feet 



96 



THE LAMBERT PINE 



round at three feet from the bottom^ and se- 
venteen feet round at the height of one hun- 
dred and thirty-four feet ; this is thought to 
be the largest mass of timber that was ever 
measured by man ; yet some of the standing 
trees of the same kind were evidently of greater 
altitude." 



Our walk having now brought us round the 
whole extent of Mr. Longhurst's grounds^ we 
returned to the house^ and spent the evening 
in that agreeable way in which intelligent 
and well-informed persons^ excluding the trifles 
and miseries of gossiping mischievous inter- 
course^ know well how to pass with advantage 
even the hours of leisure and relaxation. 



97 



WOODLAND SCENERY. 

Our next meeting was, by appointment, at 
Mrs. Heathfield's. To her estate appertained, 
by the terms of a recent enclosure, about twen- 
ty acres of wild forest land ; this being her 
share in the general distribution. She was not 
tempted by any notion of gain, nor by the love 
of change to reduce any part of this beautiful 
property to a bare expanse, for the purposes 
of common agriculture. The expectations of 
many, who had, with high hopes of immediate 
profits, thus proceeded on their allotments, had 
been, as she well knew, wofully disappointed : 
but, had the case been otherwise, her own 
ample means, and her prevailing taste for the 
natural beauties of woodland scenery, would 

H 



98 A RAMBLE IN THE FOREST. 

have secured this spot from the levelling ope- 
rations of the axe and the naattock. 

Amid the simple glades and the embower- 
ing shades of this miniature forest^ we wan- 
dered and talked with great delight. We suf- 
fered the excursive and talkative propensities 
of our young friends to expand themselves a 
little, before we gave the conversation a more 
regular and instructive turn. When, how- 
ever, being somewhat weary with their scram- 
bling expedition through the thickets, they 
began to seat themselves on a fallen trunk, I 
plucked a twig from an old walnut stump, 
which I unexpectedly found at hand, and thus 
proceeded. 



99 



THE WALNUT-TREE. 

Walnut-tree was the wood which sup- 
plied^ not our more remote ancestors of the 
middle ages^ but those who lived from one 
hundred to three hundred years back^ with 
materials for all their most valuable household 
furniture. It is tough and strong ; beautifully 
streaked and veined ; admitting of a fine 
polish ; and is obtained in very large boards. 
In many parts of Europe^ where their distance 
from the sea, or their poverty, will not permit 
the people to purchase mahogany, this is still 
tht cahimUmaktrs' tree^ as in England it used 
to be called. 

Amongst fruit-trees, the lofty athletic 
walnut, contending victoriously with the blast 

H 2 



100 WOOD OF THE WALNUT-TREE. 

that prostrates the apple-tree and the pear^ is 
a noble and majestic tree. It often attains the 
size of a middling oak ; and the fine structure 
of its massy trunks with its bold and stubborn 
branches, give it all the characteristics of a 
considerable timber-tree. It is too scarce and 
valuable to be used in the construction of any- 
thing but furniture and somewhat costly im- 
plements. During the war, the consumption 
of walnut-trees for gun-stocks was so great, 
that they were much thinned ; and it is not 
likely they will be replaced. There is no 
wood, I believe, that resists the shock of a dis- 
charged barrel like this ; and many hundred 
pounds were given, twenty or thirty years ago, 
for any thing like a good tree. At present, 
I should think, the demand for this timber is 
but small ; and I should judge it more profit- 




t 

Pag-e 99. 



WALNUT. 



* 



FRUIT OF THE WALNUT-TREE. 101 



able to allow the tree to stand as a fruit-bearer, 
than to place it over a saw-pit. 

The uses of the fruit are — " 

To eat, certainly/' cried Harry. 

And to pickle/' added Amelia. 

From the nut, or kernel/' I continued, ^' a 
fine and useful oil is prepared, which is service- 
able in the arts, and sometimes for food." 

It would, I think, be better for the poor 
trees," said Mrs. Heathfield, if they bore 
no fruit at all ; for the process of castigation 
which they undergo, to make them yield it, is 
most severe, and, I should think, highly injuri- 
ous to them." 

And yet/' I said, it is commonly believ- 
ed by the country people, that this — h ashing , 
as they call it, — bastinadoing of the branches, 
improves the fruitfulness of the walnut. I am 



102 BASHING THE WALNUT-TREE. 

not able, from knowledge, to give an opinion 
upon the subject ; but, I think it possible, that 
the removal, by beating, of the shoots on which 
the fruit of the year hangs, may cause the pro- 
duction of others, which might otherwise not 
be supplied at all." 

A most laborious and dangerous employ- 
ment it is," said Mr. Longhurst, to stand on 
ladders fifty rounds high, and sway long poles 
backwards and forwards at arm's-length ; and 
this for hours together. I should forget the 
taste of walnuts, if I were to eat none until I 
had procured myself a bushel in this way. 
Chestnuts, I believe, are not deemed worth 
this trouble." 

Sweet chestnuts," I replied, are often 
suffered to descend of themselves, and are 
gathered from the ground daily as they fall ; 
but where the crop of a tree is destined for 



THE CHESTNUT. 



103 



ready sale^ the same method is adopted as with 
walnuts. Indeed^ as these trees extend far be- 
yond the reach of ladders^ the fruit cannot be 
gathered by hand^ like apples and pears." 



THE CHESTNUT. 

^' The Chestnut^ — sweet or Spanish chestnut^ 
— is a very fine and serviceable timber- tree ; 
and formerly^ as we have heard^ it was in much 
request, on account of its strength and dura- 
bility, for the most costly and substantial 
buildings. It is said to bear the changes from 
wet to dry even better than oak, and to have 
shewn no symptoms of decay in buildings 
which have been erected many centuries. Its 
leaf — bring me one, if you please, Mr. Frede- 



104 THE CHESTNUT-TREE. 

rick, — is slightly, but very regularly, scolloped 
at the edge, and has small prickles at the points 
between : its colour is a dark glossy green." 

Frederick soon returned with five leaves, 
spreading from one stalk, like the fingers of 
a man's glove. 

Here are several leaves," said he ; but 
they are light green, very much wrinkled ; and 
the edge seems to be formed differently from 
what you have described. Sir." 

Differently, indeed," I replied ; and they 
are from a very different tree, the horse-chest- 
nut ; perhaps we shall not find a specimen of 
the sweet chestnut here. As to bulk, this tree 
equals any that are known. The most remark- 
able one in the world is that on Mount iEtna. 
Perhaps Mr. Longhurst has seen it." 

I have not visited iEtna," replied Mr. L. ; 
but I knew a gentleman who had ; and he 



CHESTNUT. 



Page 103. 



CHESTNUT ON MOUNT iETNA. 



105 



owned^ with regard to the Castagno del Cento 
CavalU, or Chestnut of the Hundred Horses^ 
that he was much disappointed on being shewn 
what appeared to be five large trees growing 
together. His guides^ with whom he remon- 
strated on the apparent imposition, protested 
that they once formed one tree, the interval 
between these five portions being then filled 
up with solid timber. This account is con- 
firmed by others, who assert, that they have 
dug far enough below the surface of the earth, 
to find a solid mass, filling the whole space. 
These portions stand in a sort of circle, which 
measures upwards of two hundred feet in cir- 
cumference, the girth of the tree before it 
went to decay !" 

Granting," I observed, that some doubt 
may fairly rest on this supposed instance of 
bulk in a single tree, there are others, w^ell 



106 



THE CHESTNUT-TREE. 



known^ in our own island^ which are sufficiently 
surprising. The great chestnut-tree at Tort- 
worthy in Gloucestershire^ measured nearly 
fifty feet round. This tree was known as a 
boundary mark^ in the reign of King John : its 
age isy with reason^ supposed to exceed one 
thousand years^ and it still continues to pro- 
duce fruit. 

Much of the fruit of the chestnut is con- 
sumed by the poorer classes of people on the 
continent^ particularly those of Spain and Italy. 
When dried and powdered, persons are not 
long in choosing between cakes made of them 
and starvation. The chestnuts usually eaten 
at desserts are imported from France and 
Spain. Those produced by British trees are 
not so fine ; nevertheless, they are eaten, and 
bear a price in the market." 



107 



THE HORSE CHESTNUT. 

The Horse Chestnut^ so called^ because 
the Turks grind the nuts and mix them with 
corn for their steeds, is a stately and orna- 
mental tree ; it gives the deepest and most 
solemn shade of any with which we are ac- 
quainted. It bears five or seven leaves on one 
stalky spread out like the fingers of the human 
hand ; and the blossom is certainly the most 
elegant and splendid flower produced by any 
timber-tree in our country. When in full 
blossom it is like a mountain of ivory and 
emeralds ; but this effect soon gives place to 
its shadowy depth of colouring. The timber 
is of little service ; being soft and perishable. 
The bark^ it is said^ is of some use in tanning ; 



108 



THE POPLAR. 



and has been employed in dyeing yellow with 
some success. The nuts have a soapy quality^ 
which the peasants in some countries employ 
advantageously." 

I think/' said Mr. Longhurst^ " we have 
now noticed the principal trees of British 
growth^ and some noted ones of foreign pro- 
duce. Others^ however^ remain^ concerning 
which we shall be glad to hear our friend 
Mr. Burton's remarks." 



THE POPLAR. 

" We have four sorts of Poplar ; all of 
which have their uses and peculiarities. These 
are the Abele, or great White Poplar ; the As- 
pen, or Trembling Poplar ; the Black Poplar ; 
and the Lombardy, Turin, or Italian Poplar. 




HORSE CHESTNUT. 



Page 107. 



VARIOUS KINDS OF POPLAR. 109 

The Abele is a beautiful and rather curi- 
ous tree. The leaves have a silvery down on 
the under side^ which shew elegantly when 
agitated by the wind. The seeds of the tree 
are clothed^ or winged^ with a considerable 
quantity of very fine and white down^ which^ 
in April or May, sometimes fills neighbouring 
houses with flue, as though all the beds had 
been beaten to pieces. I cannot help think- 
ing, that this substance, resembling cotton, as 
it does, might be spun and woven for the same 
purposes ; but I have never heard of its having 
been tried. The wood of the tree is white and 
soft, and useful for turnery ware ; and as it 
shrinks or warps very little when sawed into 
boards, it is frequently used for flooring ; but 
it is not durable. 

The Aspen is chiefly remarkable on ac- 
count of its quivering trembling leaves, which 



no 



THE BLACK POPLAR. 



hang on a stalk so long and slender^ that the 
slightest breeze sets them almost spinning. 
The bark is of a shining silvery hue. The 
wood resembles that of the other poplars. 

" The Black Poplar, I believe, is only so 
called, because it is not quite so white as those 
just mentioned. In other respects, it differs 
but little from the white poplar, and is applied 
to nearly the same purposes. 

" The LoMBARDY, or Italian Poplar, is 
that elegant spiry tree, which so much orna- 
ments our plantations. 

" It is less hardy than the other sorts, and 
its timber is of worse quality. Yet, as it 
grows very rapidly, even at the annual rate of 
four or five feet in height, it is of some im- 
portance, where it can be used on the spot. 
Being very light, perhaps the lightest of all 
timber, it answers for packing cases. In Lom- 




Page 108. 

WHITE POPLAR. 



THE ITALIAN POPLAR. 



Ill 



bardy^ it is used for the vessels in which grapes 
are carried and squeezed : and, while growings 
the tree serves as a support for vines. This 
is said to be the only spiry tree that sheds its 
leaves. 

" How many there are/^ said Mr. Long- 
hurst^ who have not taste enough to admire 
' the leafy colonnade/ formed by this tall and 
beautiful structure of nature. Many regard 
it as an unsightly incumbrance^ worthy only of 
the axe and the flame." 

I confess/' said Mrs. Longhurst^ I never 
think much of their taste for ornamental cul- , 
ture^ who speak of, and criticise the works of 
nature, as they would those of man. When 
the Creator gave that singular form to the 
Poplar, it was a variety, upon which, amongst 
an infinite number of others. He pronounced 
the incontrovertible judgment — ^ Very good / 



112 



THE ITALIAN POPLAR. 



and^ I thinks that mind is best taught^ which 
is best pleased with things thus divinely form- 
ed and commended." 

It does not^ however^ follow/' I said^ that 
every production of nature is equally elegant. 
This can no more be said^ than that all are 
equally useful. The beauty^ nevertheless, and 
the utility may be apparent enough in some 
circumstances, and to some persons, which 
may be quite undiscernible in other cases. If 
all liked and disliked, required and were an- 
noyed, by the same things, we should not have 
nearly enough of the good sort, and should be 
tormented to misery by the bad. By the in- 
finite diversities of tastes, occasions, and ma- 
terials, there is generally great abundance in 
the provisions of nature, and but very little 
waste." 



113 



THE WILLOW. 

The Willow is a tree beautiful in appear- 
ance ; and considerably more useful in the arts 
of life. There are many species ; of which the 
principal are^ the Osier^ the White Willow, 
and the Weeping Willow. 

Osiers are willows of a smaller growth than 
the others. Of the extremely tough and pliant 
twigs of this shrub, wicker baskets are chiefly 
made ; and I know not exactly what we should 
do without them. The consumption of osiers 
for this purpose is so great, that plantations 
of them are exceedingly profitable to their 
owners. In low marshy places, or by the sides 
of rivers, osiers occupy many thousands of 
acres. They are cut about once in three 

I 



114 WHITE AND WEEPING WILLOWS. 

years ; the old stumps sending out fresh shoots 
as often as they thus are trimmed. 

The White Willow grows to a consider- 
able size^ near water-courses. When the wind 
turns up the leaves^ their white and silvery 
under sides present a beautiful and singular 
appearance. The twigs of this tree are also 
used for baskets. The timber is useful for 
rough hedge carpentry. 

The Weeping Willow is^ perhaps, the most 
elegant tree we have ; but it thrives w^ell only 
on the very water's edge; and thus it is, that its 
perpendicular and streaming foliage, seeking 
as it were, to dip in the clear flood, and reflected 
accurately in it, forms a strikingly interesting 
object. It is a native of warmer climates; but 
succeeds very well in England. There are few 
ornamental grounds, possessing water, which 
are not decorated with the weeping willow." 



pope's willow 



115 



Mrs. Heathfield asked^ if I thought the 
anecdote of Pope's willow was to be relied on. 

I said it was probable ; and^ I believed^ 
was generally received, as follows : The poet 
received a basket of figs from Turkey ; and, 
perceiving that a twig of the hamper had a 
bud upon it, he stuck it in his garden ; in a 
few years, he had a magnificent drooping wil- 
low ; from which, it is said, all our trees of 
that kind have proceeded. This tree was cut 
down, a few years ago ; and it could have been 
wished, that some other employment had been 
obtained for the too busy operator." 

I believe," said Mrs. Longhurst, that 
the best charcoal is made from the willow. In 
India, there is a particular caste, or rank, of 
the natives, who live entirely in the woods, 
and gain their subsistence by burning charcoal. 
The other inhabitants, however, who are very 

I 2 



116 INDIAN CHARCOAL BURNERS. 

particular in such matters, never have any 
personal dealings with them; though^ in an in- 
direct way^ they purchase their commodities. 
The woodmen bring down their loads of char- 
coal to certain spots^ and the buyers afterwards 
come and carry it away^ leavings in place of 
it^ rice^ clothings and iron tools^ as settled by 
custom." 

That method of proceeding/' I remarked^ 
would scarcely do here. The goods and the 
charcoal^ I am afraid^ would find other cus- 
tomers than those properly concerned in the 
treaty^ unless well watched and guarded." 



117 



THE THORN ACACIA. 

What pretty tree is that/' said Amelia^ 
which stands in front of Mrs. Heathfield's 
house ? It has leaves very much like a labur- 
num ; and the flowers are not unlike^ but 
they are white instead of yellow." 

I remember it/' said Harry. " The bark 
looks like great cords^ or ropes^ tied up and 
down the tree. It is very easy to climb ; but 
the small boughs have very sharp thorns." 

It is a tree which we have omitted to 
notice/' I replied : " the Thorn Acacia. It is 
a species of laburnum ; but grows to a much 
larger size. The wood is highly ornamental^ 
and exceedingly hard and tough ; but the tree 
is too little grown or known^ to appear in the 



118 THE LIME-TREE. 

common lists of timber-trees. It has a pearly 
changing hue, and a peculiar smell, resem- 
bling, in these respects, the fancy timber 
called satin-ivoodJ' 



THE LIME-TREE. 

Here is the lopped trunk of a Lime-tree, 
Madam," said I to the owner of this wood. 

I perceive you did not forbid the axe to 
enter this sylvan domain of yours ; although, I 
suppose, you limit it to mere toppings." 

I see, indeed," said Mrs. Heathfield, that 
some one has been busy here ; but whether 
any of my own servants, I cannot tell. I had 
rather, however, that they went elsewhere 
for their wood ; but I have great difficulty in 



LIME. 



Page 118. 



THE LIME-TREE. 



119 



making them agree with my plans regarding 
this spot. ^ Ma'am/ they say^ ^ them trees in 
the wood is taking hurt ; shan't us take a few 
on 'em down V " 

It is^ indeed^ not very easy to make w^ood- 
cutters understand any other use or advantage 
in a grove^ than that which the timber affords ; 
and^ it must be confessed^ utility is the chief 
consideration in general ; as^ indeed^ it is rea- 
sonable that it should be. 

Here is a twig of lime^ springing from the 
root, which shews the broad and beautiful leaf 
of that which has been a handsome and sha- 
dowy tree. I do not see a sprig containing 
the blossom, which is remarkably elegant in its 
form, tender in its colour, — a light green, — 
and fragrant in its odour. 

The uses of the lime-tree are many. The 
timber is delicately white, and much used for 



120 



THE LIME-TREE. 



toys and other light wooden wares. It blunts 
the tool but little^ and therefore is sought for 
by leather-sellers and shoemakers for their 
cutting-boards. It is also called the carvefs 
tree, as it stands better for small ornamental 
sculpture than any other. The fine carving, 
with which many of our ancient chambers and 
palaces are adorned, is formed generally out 
of the wood of this tree. The moulds, from 
which the iron fronts of ornamented stoves are 
cast, are usually cut in this wood. 

The bark is an article of merchandise. 
By a particular process, it is formed into 
matting, in which hemp and flax, coming 
from the Baltic, are packed : this matting, 
called bass, or bast, is afterwards obtained by 
upholsterers and gardeners for their respec- 
tive uses. 

" The largest lime-tree I ever saw was in 



THE LIME-TREE. 



121 



Norfolk ; it was ninety feet high^ and forty- 
eight feet in circumference. In Germany 
and Switzerland, they are said to grow much 
larger. 

We have now noticed, I believe, all those 
trees which grow in Britain, and arrive at any 
considerable size ; there are others, however, 
which, though they do not exceed the growth 
of middling fruit-trees, produce very hard and 
useful timber, which has particular uses, and 
bears a certain value. We shall, if I am not 
mistaken, find specimens of them here, and 
will take them as they come." 



122 



THE HOLLY. 

Here is a very fine tree of Holly ; but^ I 
perceive, he shews off with a good deal more 
than belongs to him. The ivy has entwined 
itself so firmly round, and mingles its likewise 
shining dark green leaves so intimately with 
those of the tree it hangs on, that at a dis- 
tance, one can scarcely be distinguished from 
the other. The holly leaf, however, is one of 
the most remarkable in nature. By a singular 
contrivance, the points between the scollops of 
the leaf are made to answer the purpose of 
thorns, pointing every way. The leaf is as if 
it were warped by the action of fire, up and 
down, or in and out at the edges ; so that it 
is armed, above and below, by those exceed- 



Page 122. 



HOLLY. 



THE HOLLY 



123 



ingly sharp and penetrating needles. The 
stiff and ahnost horny substance of the leaf^ 
hardened as it is at those extremities, enables 
it to resist^ or to retaliate^ many injuries from 
men and animals^ which otherwise might wan- 
tonly destroy it. 

The wood of this tree, which is very white, 
is exceedingly hard, solid, and heavy ; and is 
worked by cabinet makers, and engravers on 
wood. It is also much used in the manufac- 
ture of Tunbridge ware. Of the bark, the best 
bird-lime is made ; the leaves afford food, in 
winter, to deer in the forest, as do the berries 
to birds. As an ornamental tree, it is highly 
esteemed, because it gives an appearance of 
lively green to our plantations in the severest 
winter ; and its bright red berries, clustering 
around the branch, revive the pleasing ideas of 
fruitfulness, at times when frost and snow have 



124 



THE HOLLY. 



nearly put them out of our recollections. Some 
people gather it in the week before Christ- 
mas^ to decorate churches and houses : vast 
quantities of this beautiful tree are thus con- 
sumed every year. 

This tree grows in almost all climates, 
warm and cold, in most countries of Europe, 
and in many of Asia and America. It grows 
slowly, and therefore is not so much used in 
hedge-rows as its strength and the defence it 
affords would entitle it to be. When uninter- 
rupted in its growth, it attains a considerable 
altitude and bulk. Hollies of thirty, forty, and 
even sixty feet in height are to be met with, 
in many parts of England, with clear trunks of 
proportionable girth." 



125 



THE ELDER. 

And here/' said Mrs. Longhurst^ is the 
old ladies' doctor's shop !" 

Our young friends looked wonderingly^ ex- 
pecting to see some woodland cottage^ or^ at 
leasts a hut ; but nothing besides an Elder 
bush could they see in the direction in which 
Mrs. L. continued to point. 

Most aptly/' I observed^ is the Elder- 
tree so named. I scarcely know any com- 
plaint^ but that of an empty pockety which 
this iEsculapian^ vegetable is not employed 
to cure. 

Of the wood^ which is exceedingly hard^ 

^sculapius was an ancient physician of Greece, of 
whom many fables are told. 



126 



THE ELDER. 



and capable of a higli polish^ many small arti- 
cles are made : and it is the nearest to Box in 
appearance and in grain^ of any wood we have. 
I suppose, I need not inform these young gen- 
tlemen, that, in the centre, there is a hollow, 
or tube, which contains a pith, very easily re- 
moved, and then that highly useful pneumatic 
engine, called a pop-gun^ is almost completed !" 

Oh, Sir, now you are laughing at us." 

I beg pardon, if I gave the least ground 
for such a suspicion. Well then, we will dis- 
charge the pop-gun, and proceed. Ointments 
are made of the inner bark, and of the leaves. 
The flowers, those who like them, may use as 
tea, or wash their faces with the decoction. 
The clusters of flowers, before they open, are 
made into pickles for boiled mutton ; the ber- 
ries are boiled into a treacly substance, for 
sore throats and coughs ; the branches will — 
let me see — will drive away flies !" 



THE ELDER. 



127 



I suppose so^ Sir/' said Harriet ; and 
what branches will not do that ?" 

I should rather say — that as insects can- 
not endure the smell of this shrub^ fruit-trees 
and other things that have been strongly 
whipped with boughs of elder^ will not be at- 
tacked by them. Elder flowers impart an 
agreeable flavour to water and to vinegar^ 
which some find refreshing and useful in hot 
weather. I suppose^ I need not add that a 
favourite winter cordial is made from the ripe 
berries^ and called elder wine. The pith out 
of the young shoots is cut into balls for elec- 
trical experiments^ and into toys for children. 
So now we will take leave of our elder friend, 
but not of owe youthful companions." 

Thank you. Sir/' replied the favoured 
parties. 



128 



THE MAPLE. 

And now^ what have we here ? A Maple 
BusH^ I thmk. The leaves^ though smaller^ 
are not much unlike those of the fig. It never 
grows to the size of a considerable tree, and is 
chiefly planted in hedge-rows and in coppices. 
The wood, however, is curiously veined, and 
capable of being turned into cups and bowls, 
which are almost as transparent as horn. The 
ancients were particularly fond of rural uten- 
sils formed of this wood." 

I have seen," said Mr. Longhurst, a 
variety of the maple, in North America, which 
grows to the height of fifty or sixty feet. It 
is cultivated there on account of its sweet 
juice, which is made into sugar. It is there- 



THE SYCAMORE. 129 

fore called the sugar maple. Very good wine 
and vinegar are also obtained from this tree." 



THE SYCAMORE. 

We ought now to mention/' I said,, the 
Sycamore^ another species of the maple^ and 
a very beautiful tree. The word Sycamore^ 
which means wild-fig^ does not properly belong 
to it ; for^ though the leaves have some resem- 
blance^ they are quite different plants. Its 
Latin name^ acer psmdo plat anus y the false plane 
maple y IS more accurate^ as regards its appear- 
ance. This tree will grow close to the sea- 
side, and is little affected even by the dashing 
of the salt spray. It affords a very pleasing 
shade from its large leaves, which are of a 

K 



130 



THE SYCAMORE. 



dark green colour on the upper side^ but 
paler and somewhat hoary below. The flowers, 
which are very small, are of a greenish white 
hue, followed by a large fruit, beautifully va- 
riegated with green and purple. The growth 
of this tree is rapid, and it will continue in- 
creasing for two hundred years. The wood is 
much used by turners ; and is also employed 
for saddle-trees, cutting-boards, patterns for 
founders, and other works that require wood 
of compact smooth texture, not liable to warp 
by exposure to damp or heat. Sometimes, it 
is very beautifully mottled, and, as it takes a 
fine polish, is used for certain parts of musical 
instruments. In this state, it is called Bird's 
eye maple by cabinet makers. A liquor, of a 
sugary kind, may be obtained also from this 
species of maple ; and, I believe, the High- 



Page 129. 

SYCAMORE. 



THE PLANE 



131 



landers of Scotland tap the trees for the juice^ 
with which they make an agreeable kind of 
wine." 



THE PLANE. 

Of the Plane-tree, we shall not, I dare 
say, find a specimen here. Its leaves, broad 
and numerous, like those of the Sycamore, 
afford a grateful shade in summer heats ; and 
therefore the tree was a great favourite with 
the ancient Greeks and Romans. The Syca- 
more answers the purpose nearly as well, and 
suits our climate rather better. The wood is 
beautifully marked, and used frequently for 
tables." 




132 



THE HAZEL. 

And what can this strange little tree be 
called ?" said Mr. Longhurst. 

Dear Sir/' said Harriet, it is a nut- 
bush !" 

Or Hazel/' I added. This never attains 
the bulk of a timber-tree ; but the wood it 
produces is nevertheless extremely useful. The 
first symptoms of returning activity in the trees 
of the forest, are shewn by the hazel, which 
hangs out its curious fruit-flowers or catkins, 
as they are called, as early as the month of 
January. Its fruit-bearing buds, diminutive 
as they are, make a beautiful appearance to 
the observant eye, wdth their dots of bright 
crimson on the buds. The hazel is met with 




THE HAZEL. 



THE HAZEL. 



133 



in almost every part of this island^ in most of 
our hedge-rows^ and constitutes the great mass 
of underwood in our forests and groves. They 
will^ if let alone, shoot into poles twenty feet 
in length ; but they are generally cut down 
sooner, to form walking-sticks, fishing-rods, 
stakes, hurdles, and such things ; and also for 
burning into charcoal. Engravers and other 
artists, I believe, prefer this charcoal to any 
other. The nuts of the hazel are much sought 
for, by a diminutive set of people called — " 
Boys and girls, I suppose," said Frederick. 
— Who prefer this employment," I added, 
to any other, which their governors can 
appoint ; although they are well supplied with 
food by them, at stated times, and at great 
cost." 

Our young friends smiled at the insinuation, 
but said nothing. 



134 



HAZEL NUTS. 



Nuts^ however^ are difficult of digestion ; 
and^ when eaten immoderately, often cause 
alarming complaints. 

Nut-oil is much used in the arts, and also 
in medicine. 

Nuts are a favourite food of squirrels, 
which lay them up in their winter hoards, and 
take care to pick out the best." 

^' Perhaps, Sir," said Harriet, these are 
the ^ diminutive people,' you spoke of just 
now?" 

Not exactly ; for the poor squirrels have 
none but themselves to supply them with food ; 
and nuts form the principal article of their 
diet." 

And besides," said Harry, squirrels have 
no governors nor tutors." 

I hope," said Mrs. Heathfield, rather 
gravely, that no one will suppose such to 



THE HORNBEAM. 



135 



be the case with these young folks^ either by 
any thing wild in their conduct^ or rude in 
their conversation. — Mr. Burton, I think the 
Filbert is a shrub of this family ; is it not ?" 

It is. Madam, a variety of the common 
nut : but it grows more like a tree, and bears 
larger fruit, the husk of which is longer con- 
siderably than that of the woodnut. There 
is also another variety, called the Cob Nut, 
which is the largest of the species, and round, 
with a very hard shell." 



THE HORNBEAM. 

" This tree^ as we may well call it, with its 
fine straight trunk, and glossy green leaves, is 
a Hornbeam. It bears flowers, like the hazel. 



136 



THE HORNBEAM. 



called catkins, and a small nut^ which, however, 
I believe is useless. The wood is more es- 
teemed on the continent than in this country. 
It is white, hard, and tough, and used by- 
turners, mill-wrights, and the makers of tools 
and wooden ware. As it holds its leaves long, 
and bears clipping well, it makes an excellent 
hedge." 

^^I have seen," said Mr. Longhurst, ^*^th^ 
high roads in Germany fenced, or guarded, 
for miles together, by a sort of living palisado 
of hornbeam. A parapet, or bank, of earth is 
first thrown up by the husbandman, with a 
ditch on each side ; then he plants on this 
ridge a double row of sets, and afterwards 
bends and ties them together with straw, 
scraping off the bark where the twigs touch. 
In a little time, these grow to each other. 



THE BIRCH. 



137 



and send forth shoots, which, being properly- 
pruned, form a better fortification for rustic 
purposes than many an oak fence or brick 
wall." 



THE BIRCH. 

^^Here is really a beautiful and elegant tree, 
although of rather humble growth. It is a 
Birch. This is the tree which, enduring cold 
better than any plant besides, creeps up, 
beyond the pines, into the Polar regions. So 
short, however, is the summer there, that it 
can only at last attain a few inches' growth, 
and is therefore well called dwarf birch. The 
birch also covers, where nothing else can grow. 



138 



THE BIRCH 



the watery tracts called^ in England^ marshes ; 
in Ireland, bogs ; and in Scotland^ mosses^ or 
peat mosses. 

Birch shrubs also ascend the bleak sides 
of snowy mountain tops^ and relieve the eye 
much, by their warmth of colouring, in those 
inclement situations. The bark, you see, is 
almost white ; the leaves are small and neat, 
and the boughs are finely divided into slender 
twigs. The wood, as timber^ is little valued 
by people, who have forest trees of nobler kind 
to resort to ; and is chiefly used for hoops and 
clogs. In the times of archery, to which we 
have referred, it was preferred for arrows. 
The smaller branches are used for yard and 
stable brooms. In the northern districts of 
Scotland, where pines do not grow, the birch 
is valued for its timber. The Highlander con- 
structs his cabin with it ; the thick stems con- 




Page 137. 



BIRCH. 



f 




BIRCH. — ALDER. 



139 



stituting the posts and rafters ; while the 
boughs^ wattled together, make the walls. 
His chests and boxes are of the same kind of 
wattling : his spade, his plough, his cart, and 
his harness, are all derived from the birch ; the 
twisted withies of which, likewise furnish him 
with cordage, more durable than hempen ropes. 
In Glengarry, the wood of this tree is cut into 
staves, with which herring barrels are made. 

The sap of the birch, I have been told, 
makes excellent wine." 



THE ALDER. 

The Alder, you see, has rounder leaves 
than the birch, and they feel a little clammy 
to the fingers. It grows freely in almost every 



140 



THE ALDER. 



country of Europe^ and prefers a marshy soil, 
or the margins of rivers ; where it attains a 
considerable size, and may be reared to a large 
tree ; though it is commonly cut down early 
in its growth, for poles. The wood is chiefly 
valuable for its property of continuing sound 
a long time under water : it is therefore 
used for foundation piles, and water pipes. 
There are several varieties of this tree, one 
of which is red, sometimes so finely streaked, 
that it is used for articles of household furni- 
ture, under the name of Scottish mahogany. 



Page 139. 

ALDER. 



141 



THE BOX-TREE. 

The Box-tree is scarcely now to be met 
with in England^ except in gardens and shrub- 
beries. Formerly, however, it was frequent ; 
and Box-hill, in Surrey, takes its name from 
a profusion of these beautiful trees, which, un- 
til lately, grew there, from twelve to fifteen 
feet in height, with trunks from nine to eighteen 
inches in girth. The box used for the edgings 
of walks in pleasure grounds is a variety, but 
it is impossible to make a tree of it. 

Box-wood is so exceedingly smooth, hard, 
and compact, and works so well, that it almost 
takes the place of metals for many purposes ; 
carpenter's rules, and other measures, on which 
figures are to be cut, are therefore made of 



142 



THE BOX-TREE. 



this wood. Flutes also are turned in box ; 
and engravers on wood prefer it to any other." 



And now/' said Mr. Longhurst, I think 
we have taken some notice of all timber-trees 
of British growth. The wood of many others^ 
grown for other purposes, is used, as is also 
that of various shrubs ; but we cannot enter 
upon them at present." 

It is time/' said Mrs. Heathfield, to re- 
turn : I think the hour of dinner is near." 

We must arrange, though, before we se- 
parate this evening," said Mr. Longhurst, for 
another meeting, when the subjects connected 
with forests and trees can be farther inquired 
into." 



143 



FOREIGN TIMBER-TREES. 

Various circumstances prevented our as- 
sembling, as had been proposed; and it was 
more than two months before I found myself 
again in the company of the very intelligent 
individuals, to whom I had been so fortunately 
introduced. 

Some time was occupied, when we did meet, 
in conversing with our young friends, on the 
topics formerly explained to them. We wished 
to ascertain how far the knowledge imparted 
to them had served the proper purpose of 
abiding information; and, therefore, we in 
turn put many questions : and, I am happy to 
say, they were generally answered with readi- 
ness and accuracy. 



144 FOREIGN TIMBER-TREES. 

We must now^ I suppose/' said Mr, Long- 
hurst^ acquaint ourselves a little more with 
trees of foreign growth. We cannot do this^ 
as before^ by a woodland stroll^ and thereby 
obtain^ from actual inspection^ the required 
knowledge. So we must do as well as we can^ 
with the help of books^ and what little my own 
travels may add to their stores. We shall con- 
fine ourselves^ at present^ to those few — some 
five or six — which are most curious, the best 
known, or the most useful. We will begin 
with that of which, in England, we see the 
most within doors, although every foot of it is 
imported. What can it be ?" 

Mahogany," was the instant reply. 



7f 



145 



MAHOGANY. 

We are accustomed/' said Mr. Longhurst^ 
to see and handle this article only as a dead 
substance ; and rarely think of its once glossy 
green leaves and pearly blossoms ; of its healthy 
and vigorous vegetable life ; of its vast trunk 
and giant-like arms^ now enduring the fiery 
rays of a vertical sun — now contending with 
all its mighty strength against the roaring fury 
of a West-Indian hurricane. How great is the 
change of situation^ from the rich valleys which 
wind amongst the wild mountains of Cuba^ and 
from the rocks of the Bahamas^ to the quiet se- 
curity of an English dwelling! Did you ever 
wish to know^ my dear lads^ what sort of a tree 

L 



146 



MAHOGANY. 



this is^ of which the timber is now in so com- 
mon use ?" 

It seemed as if our young friends had not 
suffered much uneasiness from unsatisfied cu- 
riosity upon this head. 

Presuming^ at least/' continued Mr. Long- 
hurst, that you will value the information, 
now it is offered, I have looked out a print of 
a mahogany branch. You see, the leaves, or, 
as they are called in botany, leaflets^ are in 
pairs, opposite to each other : these are termed 
winged leaves ; having leaflets thus placed. 
The flowers, as you perceive from this very 
accurate representation, are in upright bunches, 
somewhat like those of the horse-chestnut. I 
am not quite aware what sort of fruit, or seed, 
it produces. 

^' We are then to conceive of the mahogany- 
tree, as one of majestic size and appearance. 



MAHOGANY. 



147 



equalling, and often surpassing, in bulk, the 
English oak. There are two principal sorts : 
Spanish mahogany , as it is called, which is the 
best, is grown in those West-India Islands 
which are, or were, under the dominion of 
Spain. Honduras woody which is not of so fine 
a colour, nor so hard, comes from the main 
land of America, and near the shores of the 
gulf from which it is named. 

Those trees which grow in the most exposed 
situations, and upon the dryest soils, produce 
the best timber. The wood of such as grow 
in moist soils and warm situations, is soft, 
coarse, and spongy. Of the latter sort is the 
Honduras wood, which is used only for inferior 
purposes. There is, however, a great diver- 
sity in this latter sort, according as it has a 
more or less favourable site for its growth. 

The British settlers in that part employ 

L 2 



148 



MAHOGANY 



companies of negroes as woodmen^ in the ma- 
hogany forests. The best informed of the 
number is called the huntsman; and it is his 
business to search for trees. In the month of 
August, he is despatched into the woods, where, 
piercing through the thickest parts, he ascends 
some lofty tree, and surveys the surrounding 
forest. He discerns the mahogany trees by 
their now reddish or mahogany hue, and, de- 
scending, directs his companions to the spot. 

The operation of felling, topping, and 
carrying, I apprehend, we understand and 
practise much better than do those poor ne- 
groes ; and, when we come to hear of the work 
in our woods, which Mr. Burton has kindly 
undertaken to speak of, we shall know what 
are the best and most usual methods employ- 
ed. They float the mahogany trees in rafts to 
the sea-side, for conveyance to Europe. 



MAHOGANY. 



149 



" I believe the profits of this business are 
considerable. Single logs have been sold for 
upwards of a thousand pounds. The body of 
the tree is the most valuable for works for 
which solid wood is required ; but the knotty 
places on the branches afford that beautifully 
veined wood, which, cut into thin slices, called 
veneerSy are used to face our most elegant 
furniture." 

And how long is it/' inquired Mrs. L. 
since our ancestors first learned to use ma- 
hogany instead of walnut-tree for the furniture 
of their houses ? " 

I think," replied Mr. L., it was at the 
commencement only of the last century. It 
was, indeed, employed for the repair of ship- 
pings by Sir Walter Ralegh, at Trinidad, in 
1597 ; but it remained neglected until about 
the year 1724, when a gentleman had a few 



150 FIRST APPLICATION OF MAHOGANY. 

planks of it sent him by his brother^ a West- 
India Captain. The workmen, to whom the 
timber was handed, to make it into doors for a 
house, rejected it, as being too hard for their 
tools. A cabinet-maker was then employed to 
make a candle-box of it, and he also grumbled 
at the hardness of the material. When finish- 
ed, however, the candle-box eclipsed in splen- 
dour all the other furniture ; it became an 
object of curiosity and exhibition ; and, after- 
wards, the wood was coveted and adopted by 
others, till it became a regular article of mer- 
chandise." 




Page 151. 

CORK OAK. 



151 



THE CORK-TREE. 

The Cork-tree/' continued Mr. Long- 
hurst, to which I next call your attention, 
is of the oak family, and bears a kind of acorn, 
although its leaves much resemble those of the 
sweet chestnut." 

But how very different from oak-wood !" 
exclaimed Harry. Cork is softer than any 
wood I know !" 

Have you forgotten, my learned young 
Sir, that cork is only the hark of the tree 
which produces it ? " 

I certainly did not think of that," said 
Harry. 

The Cork oak,'' continued Mr. Long- 
hurst, is not so large a tree as the common 



152 THE CORK-TREE. 

oak. There are several sorts, some of which 
shed their leaves ; but, I think, it is a broad- 
leaved evergreen sort, from which cork for use 
is chiefly obtained. This use of the bark was 
known to the ancient Greeks and Romans ; 
they employed it for floats to their nets, for 
buoys to their anchors, and for stopping of 
bottles. And one, who was sent to swim 
through the Tiber, during the siege of Rome 
by the Gauls, had a life-preserver, or cork- 
jacket, under his clothes ; so that even that 
invention, you see, is by no means modern. 

This useful tree grows most abundantly in 
Spain, Portugal, and other southern parts of 
Europe. The cork is a sort of over-all, or 
great-coat, which the tree, in warm weather, 
can afford to part with ; but as it does not get 
another before eight or ten years, the ope- 
ration cannot be repeated till that time has 



THE CORK-TREE. I53 

expired. The inner bark, or under coat, it 
does not spare at any time. If forcibly taken, 
the tree dies." 

" Indeed," said Amelia, " I think it is very 
good to give away its clothing as it does." 

" It appears," said Mr. Longhurst, " that 
it relieves and improves the tree, to take away 
this dead spongy covering, which has ceased, 
like the outside bark of most other trees, to 
perform any of the offices of vegetation. When 
thus treated, a cork oak is supposed to live 
about a century and a half. 

" The quantity of this substance imported 
into Great Britain, in a year, is prodigious, 
—I believe, about two thousand five hundred 
tons ! One province in Spain, Catalonia, gains 
250,000/. annually by the trade. When strip, 
ped from the tree, it is slightly charred, or 
burned, on the outside, to contract the pores ; 



154 THE TEAK-TREE. 

the cracks are artfully filled with soot and 
earth, heavy weights are placed upon it, to 
keep it flat; and it is afterwards packed in 
bales for the market. 

The article called Spanish black, much 
used by painters, is obtained by burning cork 
in vessels formed for the purpose." 



THE TEAK-TREE. 

The Teak-tree, of India, has been called 
the I^ast Indian Oak, not because it is a tree 
of that family ; but on account of the strength 
and durability of its timber, and its essential 
use in the construction of shipping. Since 
oak has become so scarce here. Government 
have paid great attention to the teak, of which 



THE TEAK-TREE. 155 

immense forests exist in our Eastern domi- 
nions. 

The teak possesses great majesty and 
beauty^ as a tree. Its leaves are nearly two 
feet in lengthy and its beautiful flower some- 
what resembles that of the mahogany. ' On 
the banks of the river Irrawaddy^ in the Bir- 
man country^ the teak forests are unrivalled. 
They rise so far above the jungle^ or brush- 
wood^ by which tropical forests are usually 
rendered impenetrable^ that they almost seem 
as if one forest w^ere upborne^ on gigantic 
pillars^ over the top of another.' " 



156 



THE PALM. 

Harriet^ in turning over some landscapes 
of Eastern scenery^ remarked the tall trees, 
with leaves only at the top ; some of which 
were seen in almost every print. 

They are Palm-trees, my dear/' said 
Mr. Longhurst ; and of them we will now 
take some notice, as they well deserve our 
attention, and call for our admiration of that 
peculiar goodness, by which, as we before ob- 
served, the Creator has exactly suited His 
gifts to the occasions and circumstances of 
those who receive them. The Palm, or date- 
palm, rears its majestic and beneficent form in 
desert tracts of fierce heat, where all other 
trees leave the almost perishing traveller to 



THE PALM-TREE. 157 

his fate. That broad belt of burning sand, 
which stretches across Africa, from the At- 
lantic to the Indian Seas, is edged with such 
an abundance of this grateful tree, that the 
country, especially that part which lies be- 
tween Barbary and the Desert, is called Bile- 
dulgeridy or the Land of Dates. The date 
palm-trees, and the tents of the wandering 
Arabs, are the only objects that catch the eye 
on the borders of the vast ocean of sand. 

There is hardly any part of this tree 
which is not serviceable to man, either as a 
necessary or a luxury. It is by no means 
confined to the margins of deserts, but is 
widely dispersed in the warmer climates. The 
palm-trees mentioned in the Scriptures, and 
in other ancient writings, are always the date- 
palms of which we have been speaking. 

When a traveller espies a clump of palm- 



158 



THE PALM-TREE, 



trees^ which he may do at a great distance^ he 
knows, almost certainly, not only that there he 
shall find shade and fruit, but also a fountain 
of water at their feet." 

This/' said Mrs. Longhurst, is beautifully 
expressed in the book of Exodus. ^ And they 
came to Elim, and there were threescore and 
ten palm-trees and twelve wells of water.' " 

And such/' continued Mr. L. as the 
country and the palm-trees were then, such 
they are now ; and it is interesting to perceive 
the fidelity with which these ancient incidents 
of human life are referred to by the writers of 
Scripture, by the likeness there is to the nar- 
ratives of modern travellers in those parts ; and 
the fact itself is not a little striking, that thou- 
sands of years make scarcely any difference in 
the country and people of the East ; whilst 
one or two hundred years alters us so much, in 



THE PALM-TREE. 159 

these northern latitudes^ that we are scarcely 
to be recognised^ except from history, as the 
same nation : — but let us return to the palm, 

" The tree grows with an upright stem, 
devoid of branch or bend, to the height of from 
sixty to one hundred feet, or more. It then 
sends forth a magnificent crown of leaves, 
somewhat resembling those of our fern. The 
main rib of the leaves is from eight to twelve 
feet in length, and the leaflets are from two 
to eight : these, however, are not more than 
one inch in width ; and they are not unlike 
our great water flags. The flowers appear in 
large bunches, or spikes, between the leaves. 
The trunk, I believe, is hardly considered as 
timber, being full of interstices, or cracks, 
which are filled with pith. It is the pith of a 
sort of palm, which makes sago. The fruit, 
which we call dates, when ripened properly on 



160 PRODUCTS OF THE PALM-TREE. 

their native soil^ are esteemed delicious eating. 
Dates sold at our shops, are packed before 
they are ripe ; and therefore we cannot judge 
well of their merits. They often form the only 
food of the traveller, during journeys of many 
hundred miles. A rich syrup, a fine wine, and 
a kind of spirituous liquor, are made from the 
dates, or the sap of the tree. When it is in- 
tended to obtain the sap, the head, or crown, 
is cut off, and the top is scooped out like a 
basin. As the sap rises, it of course fills the 
cavity, at the rate of about a gallon a day, for 
the first two weeks. After that, the tree lan- 
guishes, and eventually dies ; therefore, for this 
operation, they only select such trees as pro- 
duce little or no fruit. The stalks of the dates, 
together with the stones of the fruit, though 
very hard, are used as fodder for cattle, after 
they have been softened by boiling. Baskets, 



PALMS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 



161 



mats^ cordage^ and other articles of domestic 
use^ are manufactured from the fibrous parts of 
the tree ; and the trunks though unfit to cut 
into planks^ answers well for posts^ rails^ and 
similar coarse purposes." 

Harriet was now seen whispering to Mrs. 
Heathfield^ who presently said that her young 
friend had some farther information to commu- 
nicate on the same subject. 

Most gladly will I be a hearer/' said Mr. 
Longhurst. 

We all smiled to see how the arch little 
girl pursed her mouth up primly^ and spoke 
as follows : 

^' There is a great river, — the name is of no 
consequence, as I forget it, but it is somewhere 
in South America, — and the banks of it are 
covered with palm-trees of a certain sort : and 
those parts are apt sometimes to be covered 

M 



162 



SINGULAR HABITATIONS. 



with water when the river overflows ; and 
then they call it a flood, — and a flood is an 
inundation." 

Thank you, my learned little lady/' said 
I : — but her gravity was now nearly upset, and 
it was long before she could resume the thread 
of her discourse. 

So, these palm-trees being very high, their 
tops are never overflowed. And so it is, that 
these palm-trees, with their great bushy tops, 
look very droll, standing above the water. 
But that is not the most wonderful thing ; for, 
when it grows dark, you may see these tree- 
tops blazing with fires ! " 

Really !" said Mr. Longhurst ; what I 
have related comes to nothing, when compared 
with this. — Pray, madam, how, or by whom, 
are those fires kindled?" 

^ By a people. Sir," she replied, called — 



THE GUANACOS. 



163 



called — Gua — Gua,'' — here she pulled a slip 
of paper from her pockety and read Guanacos. 
They have lived a long while in those v^et 
countries ; and when the floods come, they 
run up into the high palm-trees, and live 
there." 

But how is it/' I inquired, that the 
branches are not burned by their fires ?" 

" Because/' said the composed little narrator 
they burn them on earth." 
O, Harriet !" exclaimed Frederick, " but you 
said, just now, they were up in the trees, and 
that the earth was covered with water !" 

" Not that earth," replied the ready little 
girl, which they take with them up into the 
trees. They hang mats between the branches, 
and in these they put their earth, and on that 
their fire. I suppose, too, that they take with 
them up stairs, something to burn." 

M 2 



164 THE TASK COMPLETED. 

— And something to eat, I should think/' 
said Frederick. 

Perhaps not/' replied Harriet ; I rather 
think they eat the fruit of the tree, and some 
parts of its bark and leaves ; and that they 
drink the juice, or sap." 

To some farther questions, our little inform- 
ant could give no reply ; for her stock of 
knowledge, which had flowed out in such an 
ample and unexpected stream, ceased entirely, 
when she had named the source which had sup- 
plied her, — a small volume, lately published, in 
which these facts were stated in a very inte- 
resting manner. It appeared that this little 
matter had been planned by her and her sister 
for some time ; and that she had many times 
repeated to the latter the substance of what 
she had read, to make herself perfect in her 
performance. A little fluttered, and some- 



ADVANTAGES OF ATTENTION. l65 

what out of breathy she now seemed very glad 
that her self-appomted task was completed. 

I confess/' said Mr. Longhurst, I am 
pleased at two things : Firsts that I have 
gained from that young lady a very curious 
and interesting piece of information, which had 
escaped my memory, or my notice ; and I am 
very glad to find that so clear and distinct an 
account can be given by her ; as it shews that 
knowledge finds not only entrance, but a resi- 
dence in her mind. I shall be glad, indeed, if 
all the things we have been talking about, 
when on the subject of Forest- trees, be as 
cleverly stored, and as ready for use, in every 
head that has heard them. I was going to say 
something about the Banian-tree, but perhaps 
I had better be a hearer still." 

But no one uttered a word ; so Mr. Long- 
hurst proceeded. 



166 



THE BANIAN. 

The Banian is a species of the fig-tree ; 
but the fruit is small, and of little value. It 
is, however, a tree more deserving of notice, 
on account of the curious manner of its growth, 
than perhaps any other that can be named. It 
is, in fact, not a tree, but a forest. It grows 
to a considerable height, and sends forth 
branches, like other trees ; but these branches, 
in time, send twigs downwards — as straight 
as a line would hang. They lengthen until 
they touch and enter the earth, where they 
soon strike root ; and then the sap which had 
descended, whilst the nourishment proceeded 
from the branch above, ascends in greater 
quantity, and enables the tree to make other 



THE BANIAN. 



167 



shoots^ and to a greater extent^ which drop in 
turn ; and^ by this curious process^ one tree 
becomes a very considerable grove^ or forest 
in miniature^ affording, in the hot climate of 
the East, a most grateful and convenient shade. 

The Strawberry/' although a lowly her- 
baceous plant, resembles the Banian-tree in ' 
its mode of growth, sending forth shoots or 
side branches, which take root, and become 
plants in a similar way." 

And I had forgotten," said Mr. Long- 
hurst, the Black Mangrove, which grows on 
the shores of the West-India Islands. I think, 
however, that it in no case extends like the 
Banian. We will conclude our account of this 
tree with Milton's description, which, how- 
ever, I presume, is at every tongue's end : 

Such as, at this day, to Indians known, 

In Malabar, or Deccan, spreads her arms. 



168 



THE BANIAN TREE. 



Branching so broad and long, that in the ground 
The downward twigs take root, and daughters grow 
About the mother tree, a pillared shade, 
High over-arched, and echoing walks between : 
There oft the Indian herdsman, shunning heat, 
Shelters in cool, and tends his pasturing herds, 
At loop-holes cut through thickest shade."* 



Our conversation on these subjects dropped 
for that evening ; and it was not until we met 
again at Mr. Longhurst's, that we had an 
opportunity of resuming it. 

* Paradise Lost, book ix. 1. 1102. 



169 



WORK IN THE WOODS. 

As^ in talking over these matters^ we had ge- 
nerally been guided rather by objects that hap- 
pened to lie before us, than by any regular and 
arranged plan, such as would be adopted in a 
book, we did not think it needful to continue 
any part of our subject longer than it seemed 
useful and interesting to the young people ; 
and when any thing a little different from the 
matter in hand came in our way, we noticed it 
in the best manner we could ; and we often 
found the attention relieved by so doing. 

It chanced, as we were walking in the 
Forest, and before any regular conversation 
had commenced, that we came to a spot, where 
a number of men were busily employed in 



170 



WORK IN THE WOODS. 



felling a large tree ; and we were led^ from 
this incident^ to turn our attention to the sub- 
ject of Work in the Woods^ and the Manage- 
ment OF Timber Logs. 

Some time before, the surveyors had been 
through the Forest, numbering and marking 
such trees as were supposed to be ripCy or, in 
plain language, best fitted for the purposes of 
timber. We observed the marks, and were 
almost grieved to see the principal beauties 
of the Forest thus condemned ; knowing that 
their leafy honours would soon be laid low. 

There was to be a considerable fall of timber 
this season ; and a number of woodmen were 
engaged. For several days they had been at 
w^ork, clearing the underwood away. 

We took our station on a spot where we 
might see the whole process without danger 
or alarm. 



171 



FELLING TIMBER. 

We had expected to see the whole tree cut 
down and fall at once, with all its branches on 
it ; but we were told, that, although such a 
method was sometimes taken, when the mere 
timber was wanted for public uses ; it was not 
a good mode, as many of those branches, 
called top and top^ were sure to be split, and 
rendered unserviceable. 

This tree had been sold for private use ; and 
the purchaser was there, to see that all was 
done in the way most likely to prove beneficial 
to himself. Accordingly, two men ascended 
to the largest arms, — the lower arms first. 
These they carefully took off, either with the 
short chopper, which they call a hilly or with 



172 



FELLING TIMBER 



a hand-saw. The branchy we observed^ was 
first cut a little underneath, and then above, 
that it might not split and fall before it was 
cut through. By this care and skill, many 
valuable knees, and other shapes, of useful 
timber, were preserved entire. 

As these preparatory operations occupied 
some time, our young friends began to be 
somewhat impatient ; for the grand fall of the 
whole tree was the event they were longing for. 
When they saw it stripped, branch after branch, 
they feared that nothing worth looking at 
would be left for the last. They were amused, 
however, by a great hallooing amongst the 
workmen; for one of them had seated himself, 
by mistake, on the branch which his companion 
was cutting ; so that, had he not nimbly sprung 
to the neighbouring one, he must have fallen 
with it. 



FELLING TIMBER. 



173 



And now there arose a little difference of 
opinion between the master and his men. The 
latter wished to proceed against the tree itself, 
with axes ; he insisted upon the saw being used ; 
the reason was soon explained. The chips 
were the perquisite of the men^ and they well 
knew that the axe would reduce a large portion 
of the timber to these chips^ whilst the saw 
would give them nothing. The master^ too^ 
was quite aware of this^ and calculated that 
perhaps a square foot of oak would be saved 
him by the saw. As he would not give up the 
point, they rather discontentedly obeyed ; and 
two of them, taking a pit-saw^ with a handle 
fixed at each end, set to work ; of course com- 
mencing on the contrary side to that towards 
which the tree leaned ; nevertheless, as they 
had done with the larger branches, they made 
a small beginning first at the part where the 



174 



FELLING TIMBER 



saw was to come through^ to prevent the mis- 
chief of splitting the butt. 

Whilst they were at work thus below, a man, 
seemingly quite unconcerned at their opera- 
tions, climbed up, with a rope in his hand, as 
near as he could to the top of the tree ; and 
having, as we understood, been a sailor in his 
younger days, he briskly descended by that 
rope ; and offered, when half way down, for a 
pot of beer, to continue there half an hour ; 
they working the mean time as briskly as they 
pleased ; but the master said that he did not 
pay him to win wagers or to lose them ; and 
found him a more safe employment below : — 
nor were any of us sorry for the turn he had 
given to the proposal. 

Nothing shews the great strength of oak 
timber more than the process of sawing the 
trees down ; for, as in the present instance. 



FALL OF THE OAK. 175 

the saw will go so far throughythat scarcely an 
inch appears to hold the tree up^ and yet it 
continues to stand. At lengthy a peculiar 
cracking was heard. Two men now took the 
rope's end as far off as it would allow them^ 
and pulled^ gently swaying the tree backwards 
and forwards, whilst two more drove in 
wedges at the gash where the saw had entered, 
and thus relieved greatly the labour of the 
sawyers. At another loud crack, they sud- 
denly desisted- — we all stepped backwards. 
Three or four of the men now went to assist 
those at the rope, who took care to stand a 
little sideways of the expected fall. The head- 
man cried at each pull, One — Two — Three" 
— that they might all act together. At the 
third cry, all bore with their whole strength. 
Now, a low bursting sort of noise succeeded — 
the mighty trunk swayed fairly over, and, with 



176 DIMENSIONS OF THE TREE. 

a thundering crash^ descended! The wood- 
land ponies were now seen taking to their 
heels ; rooks, with loud cawing, left their nests 
in swarms ; and we ourselves had involuntarily 
started behind a huge elm, for protection. 

After a momentary pause, we all stepped 
forward most courageously. The prostrate 
giant had uttered his last groan, and all fears 
from him were at an end. Our surprise, par- 
ticularly that of the young persons, was great, 
at the unexpected bulk of the tree. Whilst 
standing, and deprived of its branches, it looked 
comparatively inconsiderable ; but now, Frede- 
rick and Harry found that they could not see 
each other, when standing on different sides of 
the trunk, near the root. It was, in fact, more 
than five feet in diameter at the thickest part. 

Oh Sir," said Harry, see ! it has made 
itself a grave to lie in !" 



STOCKING UP. 



177 



It was seen^ indeed^ that a projecting part 
of the tree had deeply entered the earthy which 
the proprietor said he was very glad to see ; 
for^ had the ground been sufficiently hard to 
resist this, the timber would undoubtedly have 
been split up the middle^ and thus have made 
him a loser of many pounds. 

But why not dig the tree up by the roots ?" 
said Harry. 

^"^We call that stocking it up^' said Mr. 
Woodgate^ the builder^ who^ seeing our cu- 
riosity, very obligingly satisfied us upon many 
points. I did not buy the stock ; and, if I 
had, I am not sure that the extra labour, 
which is great, of proceeding in that way, 
would have paid me. Here, the stumps and 
roots are perquisites of the verderer, or over- 
looker of the Forest. He perhaps may send 
men to take them up, or perhaps he will not ; 

N 



178 WOOD STOCKING. 

for many of these tables are left to perish in 
the soil. When timber is sold by a landlord 
on a farm^ these parts are usually the per- 
quisite of the tenant. There are men called 
wood'StockerSy or splitters^ who make it their 
business to get up the roots and stumps of 
trees, that have been taken down. I think, 
if you wish to see them at work, young gen- 
tlemen, there is an opportunity, only a few 
paces off; for I heard gunpowder at work this 
morning, instead of beetle and wedges." 



WOOD STOCKING. 

An explosion had, indeed, that minute been 
heard ; and had it not been for this, and the 
name of gunpowder y I question whether the 



WOOD STOCKING. 179 

young gentlemen would have felt any desire 
to see the operation which had been referred 
to. However^ they were now impatient to 
proceed thither ; and^ as Mr. Longhurst ex- 
plained to the ladies^ that the explosion had 
taken place^ they were induced to follow ; 
perhaps hoping as much that this process 
would not be repeated^ as the young gentle- 
men wished it might. 

A prodigious block of a tree was soon per- 
ceived^ at which three or four men were busily 
employed. They had dug and cut a deep 
trench all round the stump, at some distance 
from it ; and by working regularly and neatly 
through earth, wood, and stone, and then pro- 
ceeding under the mass, they had apparently 
detached it from the soil. But this was not 
really the case, as one of the men confessed, 
to his sorrow. Four of us have been at this 

N 2 



180 



WOOD STOCKING. 



two days/' he said, and we have not got at 
the tap-root yet." 

The tap-root/' I explained, is that which 
strikes perpendicularly down from the middle 
of the great root ; and, in the shape of a tap, 
or spigot, often descends some feet. This, of 
course, is the most difficult to get at and to 
cut." 

Then, I suppose, they put gunpowder un- 
derneath, to blow it up ?" said Frederick. 

No, no. Mister !" said Jack Heavem ; that 
wouldn't do no more good than lighting a pipe 
aneath it." 

Because, I suppose," said I, it could 
obtain plenty of vent all round." 

Just so. Sir," said the man. When we 
split 'em with powder, we bore into the solidest 
part we can find, and plug it up as tight as a 
post. We thought to have split this sheer 



SPLITTING OLD ROOTS. 181 

down in that way, and then we could have cut 
the tap-root a-two in a wink ; but, howsomever, 
the powder flew out at a crack, and only split 
off* a bit as big as one could carry." 

And what are you going to do now ?" 
asked Mr. Longhurst. 

Take another penn'orth o' patience. Sir/' 
said the woodman. ''^ We must dig a little 
deeper, and cut the limb in two with the saw, 
if that be all." 



SPLITTING OLD ROOTS. 

One man now set to work with the spade 
and mattock for this purpose ; whilst others 
applied themselves to splitting ofl" the sides of 
the block with wedges. 



182 SPLITTING OLD ROOTS 



The wedge/' said Mr. Longhurst, is the 
first of the mechanical powers ; and its effects^ 
indeed^ are surprising^ as you will soon see." 

A wedge was then held, touching the wood, 
by one man, while another struck it rather 
gently with the wooden hammer, called a 
beetle. " Gently ! gently ! " cried the man 
with the wedge. 

I suppose," said Harriet, he is afraid that 
his hand will be hurt." 

O, no. Miss," said he ; but, if we hits 
too hard, the wedge won't draw''' 

I explained, that such was the extreme re- 
sistance of the wood against the smooth sides 
of the iron, that its tendency was to throw the 
wedge out, and that, if they struck it too hard 
at first, this was sure to be the case. The 
man, encouraged by the iron seeming to have 
a hold, now hit harder, when it jumped out. 



SPLITTING OLD ROOTS. 183 

and the operation was to be repeated. They 
now rubbed the sides of the wedge with chalk, 
and putting it in the same place, at length suc- 
ceeded in driving it firmly in. Each man then 
took a beetle, and, with the greatest regularity 
and truth of aim, smote it alternately, till the 
wedge was fairly buried in the wood. 

Oh !" said Frederick, laughing, now 
what is to be done ? Nobody can get the 
wedge out, I am sure : and the wood is not in 
the least split ! " 

Let us see," said Mr. Longhvirst ; the 
men do not seem at all concerned about their 
wedge." 

They now took another wedge, and placing 
it as close as they could to the one already in, 
they drove the fresh one also completely down 
and level with the first. Not to make too 
long a story of it, however, it is sufficient to 



184 SPLITTING OLD ROOTS. 



say^ that when they had thus driven four 
wedges down, the wood gaped widely, and a 
blow or two of the beetle against the part they 
aimed to remove, detached it entirely, and the 
wedges all at once jingled out. 

" You see," said Mr. Longhurst, that skill 
and knowledge, as well as strength, are re- 
quired even in the breaking up of the old 
stump of a tree. I dare say, that in an hour 
or two, this will be cracked into convenient 
pieces for the fire." 

It is like in less time than that, Sir," said 
one of the men, touching his hat ; ^' more par- 
ticular if you please to give us a drop of drink." 

I thought that was coming," said Mr. 
Longhurst, bestowing the needful shilling : 
" There — Now tell us how much wood you 
think this will make, when split." 

" Why, I reckon two good stacks. Sir." 



WOOD STACKS. 



185 



And how much is a stack ? " 

A stacks Sir, is twelve foot long, and three 
foot over, and three foot high, and we lay 'em 
as squarish as we can." 

" And as hollow as they will let you," 
added Mr. Longhurst, aside. " These men 
are vastly cunning in building those stacks, 
and will not only make two feet six go for a 
yard, but will construct you a very capacious 
log-house instead of a solid stack, unless they 
are well watched. I believe they have six or 
seven shillings a stack for their labour; and 
severe labour it certainly is." 



186 



MEASURING TIMBER. 

We now returned to the fallen tree^ and 
found Mr. Woodgate employed in examining 
and measuring the timber^ whilst the men 
were farther lopping the branches which lay 
around. 

We found that the sticky or stem of the tree^ 
was forty-six feet five inches to the first arm 
stump ; that its circumference at the bottom 
was nearly sixteen feet^ and at the top about 
seven. Some of the limbs were praised by 
the builder for their shape and substance. 
Many of them were a foot in diameter^ and 
would make nine inches of timber when squared. 
We endeavoured to count the rings ; but they 
became so confused towards the edge, that we 



CONVEYANCE OF SOUND. 187 

quite lost our reckoning : however^ we counted 
one hundred and eighty seven. 

Now^ Frederick/' said Mr. Longhurst^ 
drawing out his watch^ can you hear this 
tick?" 

Frederick scarcely could, for a breeze was 
just then stirring amongst the branches ? 

Go to the other end of this tree^ and you 
will hear it better." Frederick smiled. 

Now lay your ear down as close as you 
can to the flat end." 

Mr. L. then placed the watch against the 
large end of the tree^ being distant from Fre- 
derick's ear about fifty feet. 

dear ! I can hear it now quite plainly, 
indeed ! " said he. O, Harry, and Amelia, 
and Harriet, do come ! " 

They all did the same, and every one was 
surprised at this curious fact. 



188 MEASUREMENT OF TIMBER. 

If tliat tree were ten times as long/' said 
I believe you would hear it just as well ; 
so easily and certainly is sound transmitted 
through many solid feet of timber." 

That reminds us/' said Mr. Longhurst, 
to find the contents of this trunk. How 
shall we set about it ?" 

Mr. Woodgate obliged us by shewing the 
builder's mode of rough-measurement. Taking 
his chalk-line^ he ascertained the girth of the 
tree at about the middle ; then measuring with 
his rule the lengthy (the girth in the middle 
being sixteen feet,) he took one quarter of that 
(four feet), and so multiplied by four the length, 
forty-six feet, and found the result was one 
hundred and eighty-four cubical feet. " But," 
said he, " we must make allowance here for 
bark and waste ; so we should say there are 
about one hundred and seventy-eight cubical 



MAKING UP FAGGOTS. 



189 



feet of real timber. We call forty solid feet 
of timber^ just as the tree falls, a load ; and 
fifty, if it be barked, hewn, and squared with 
the axe." 



MAKING UP FAGGOTS. 

In another part of the Forest, we came to a 
scene a little different, but very busy. The 
men were forming the lesser parts of the tree 
into proper quantities and shapes, for sale. 

The principal branches, or limbs, like 
those we have seen, are of value as timber, 
however bent or unsightly in their form. 

The smaller wood they call timber-toys 
and brush-wood. This is made up into faggots, 
for the farmer's hearth and the oven." 



* 

190 MAKING UP FAGGOTS. 



How much rope it must take to tie it 
all up in bundles !" said one of the little 
ladies. 

Or rather/' said Mr. L. none at all. 
See, there is not a bit of rope employed." 

Oh ! they tie it with sticks/' she re- 
plied. How can they double them and make 
knots?" 

I pointed to an old man, who was just then 
twisting several pliable long twigs of oak for 
the purpose. He laid this straight on the 
ground, and then placed across it an arm-full 
of the wood, which had been chopped into 
lengths of about five feet. All the smaller 
wood was put in the middle. When he had 
thus got as much as he thought proper for one 
faggot, he doubled the small end of the withie 
into a loop, which he twisted round a few 



FAGGOTS AND CHIPS. 191 

times to confine it ; then putting the stout 
end of the band through this loop^ he drew it 
as tight as he could^ pressing the faggot with 
his knee, to make it compact and firm ; then 
he doubled the stout end, and tucked it in 
amongst the branches : all was then sufficiently 
close and firm for conveyance to any place 
where they might be wanted. 

The exact quantity, we found, was not very 
nicely attended to, all being guessed at by the 
wood-binder : but a faggot ought to weigh 
as much as a truss of hay, which is fifty-six 
pounds. 

As for the chips, we saw them carefully 
gathered up, and packed into a little home- 
made donkey-cart, di:iven by an old woman, 
who appeared to have purchased them of the 
labourers. She intended to take them round 



192 CARRYING TIMBER. 

to houses for sale. Her usual profits on these 
speculations she did not acquaint us with ; 
perhaps she might gain eighteen-pence a cart- 
load for her trouble and the outlay of her 
capital ! 



CARRYING TIMBER. 

Mr. Longhurst had learned of the good- 
natured builder^ Mr. Woodgate^ the day on 
which he purposed moving the timber-tree, 
which we had seen cut down. On the morning 
of that day, we assembled at the spot, as agreed. 
We all felt more interested in these things, 
the more we attended to them and understood 
them ; otherwise, perhaps, we should not have 
felt motives sufficiently strong to pay such fre- 



CARRYING TIMBER. 



193 



quent^ and^ as some would say^ unseasonable 
visits to the Forest. 

A lively discussion had taken place^ at the 
breakfast-table, amongst the younger part of 
the family, respecting the way in which the 
tree in question could be moved away. Little, 
however, could be thought of by any of them, 
for that purpose, but multitudes of men and 
horses. 

It may be," said Frederick to his brother, 
that they cannot get a hundred men and a 
hundred horses, to help them ; I only say, that 
that would be the best way, if they could'' 

And / say," replied Harry, that a steam- 
engine, if they could have one there, would lift 
it up in a moment. I think that would be the 
best way." 

But Mrs. Longhurst suggested, that it was 

o 



I 

CARRYING TIMBER. 

not only to be lifted up, but carried away — so 
Harry's thought was a bad one. 

Amelia and Harriet both thought that it 
would be cut to pieces as it lay^ and then it 
would be easy enough to carry the boards. 

I think/' said Mr. Longhurst^ that the 
best w^ay for us will be to move ourselves to the 
spot, and see what is actually going forward." 

They all, therefore, set out, each sufficiently 
eager to see how^ the thing was really done ; 
and each, perhaps, entertaining a distant hope 
that his or her plan would be, at last, the one 
nearest the truth. No doubt, it is very grati- 
fying to be able to say — There, you see, I 
was right ! I told you how it would be !" It 
is better, however, when persons are less anx- 
ious to see their own opinions thus honoured. 
They are more likely to form a right judgment, 
when they have no wish but to know the truth. 



THE TIMBER DRAG. 195 

As they went along the narrow shady lane 
leading to the wood, they met a timber-truck, 
with three horses, conveying a pretty large 
tree in a way that had not occurred to the 
wisest of them. The heaviest end was chained 
up between two great wheels, whilst the other 
end trailed along the ground, and thus pro- 
ceeded. They were obliged to stand up close 
to the hedge, as this passed by them. 

^' That," I remarked, is called a timber- 
dragy or, in some places, a whim. You saw 
how the tree was slung to the axle of that ma- 
chine, by strong iron chains, which passed round 
it several times. That sort of carriage is not 
employed to convey them to any great dis- 
tance, but generally to take them out of the 
way, to some more convenient place, either 
for lying or for being loaded." 

We came to the tree itself, just in time to 

o 2 



196 THE LEVER. 

see the operation ; for^ the debate having been 
as to the power by which it could be lifted on 
to the carriage^ or how it could be moved at all^ 
it was needful to see the very commencement 
of the business. 

They were first surprised to see a couple of 
men move a large tree, seemingly with great 
ease to themselves, only by putting, each of 
them, a pole underneath it ; as they raised 
their end of the pole, the tree rolled along. 
Sometimes they placed a block under the pole, 
close to the tree, then depressed the end they 
held, and that really lifted up the heavy tim- 
ber log. Harry soon saw, that one thousand 
men, if they had been there, could only have 
stood still looking at each other ; and that as 
many as could conveniently have taken hold of 
the tree, could not have lifted it as those two 
men did by means of their poles. 



THE LEVER. 197 

Frederick was the first to ask an explanation 
of this wonder. How can it be^ that a thing 
like that can have so much power !" 

That/' I replied, is the simplest of the 
mechanical powers, and is called a lever. 
You see that he placed the block, on which 
the pole pressed, as near the tree as he could ; 
because — now attend- — just so much as the 
part of the lever on this side the block is longer 
than that beyond it, which goes under the tree, 
so much more power has the operator with it." 

As my explanation seemed to want some- 
thing to make it satisfactory to my hearers, 
I determined to call experiment to our aid. 

There," said I, ^^lies an arm of the tree; see if 
you can lift up the thick end with your hands." 

They tried ; but could by no means stir 
it. I desired one of them, then, to take a 
light pole and a block to assist him. He did 



198 



THE PULLEY 



SO ; but accidentally placing the block under 
about the middle of the pole, he gained no 
power ; he was still unable to move the load. 
His brother saw the mistake ; and, moving the 
block, ox fulcruyn^ as it is called, closer to the 
timber, they found it easy enough, by one of 
them bearing upon the end farthest from the 
block, to raise this log, as the workmen had 
raised the larger one. The victory seemed 
as pleasing to them as the knowledge. Yet 
both of them said in a breath, I shall think 
of that again/' 

Affairs of still greater interest, however, 
arrested our attention ; for preparations were 
now making for lifting the tree, which had 
been the object of so many inquiries. 

They saw there a machine composed of 
three long and stout beams, or legs, open at 
one end, at the other joined by iron hooks and 



THE PULLEY. 199 

eyes. This was set up and made to expand 
widely over the butt end of the tree. A 
double cluster of pulleys, with a prodigious 
hook^ hung from the top of this three-legged 
machine. This was lowered^ so that the hook 
might take hold of the huge chain^ with which 
the timber below was many times encircled. 
A long rope^ which connected the two boxes 
of pulleys^ by passing in and out to each^ was 
now fastened to one of the horses. When 
they led the animal forward^ the under block 
of pulleys rose^ and with it the huge butt end 
of the tree^ high enough to permit that part 
to be hitched upon the timber-carriage^ which 
creaked and groaned beneath the w^eight. By 
changing the situation of the chains, and 
bringing the carriage gradually under, it was 
at length made to sustain that prodigious 
mass, which^ but for the application of the 



200 THE TIMBER CARRIAGE. 

simple mechanical powers^ must have lain and 
rotted where it fell. 

The lads turned inquiring eyes towards us ; 
and I then said^ that these pulleys were ex- 
actly on the same principle as those of the old- 
fashioned wind-up jacks^ the weight of one of 
which I remembered to have seen hanging 
from Mrs. Heathfield's house. The mecha- 
nical principles by which this astonishing force 
was gained^ I did not attempt to explain^ be- 
cause they could not be understood^ without a 
measure of mathematical knowledge^ which it 
was impossible^ at their early age^, they should 
possess. 

We next examined the carriage^ and found 
that it was composed of nothing more than 
two pair of very strong wheels, kept in their 
proper places by a very long and strong beam 
of oak-timber. 



THE TIMBER CARRIAGE. 201 



But what is the reason/' asked Frederick^ 
that this beam projects out so far behind 
the wheels 

" Because/' replied Mr. Woodgate^ we 
sometimes have longer trees than this to move^ 
in which case we bring the hind wheels farther 
back. The axletree is made moveable on pur- 
pose : so^ you see^ we lengthen or shorten the 
carriage^ according to the extent of our load." 

Harry asked how many trees that one car- 
riage would take away at once ? 

We reckon/' said Mr. Woodgate^ that 
five loads at a time are enough/ if in separate 
trees ; but^ in the case of a single tree^ we 
must take it^ let it weigh what it may ; but five 
loads of timber and five horses are quite enough 
for men^ horses^ and carriage to manage^ and 
for the King's high road to sustain." 



202 



REMARKABLE APPLICATIONS 

OF TIMBER. 

In the evenings the conversation turned upon 
the mode in which timber had been applied in 
some remarkable cases. 

Our modern buildings/' observed Mr. 
Longhurst^ " are not constructed so as to ex- 
hibit scientific carpentry^ or the grand strength 
and beauty of the timber. We cover the 
inside of our roofs with a plain or ornamented 
ceiling ; and none but those who can go among 
the beams with a lantern can see of what the 
edifice is built, or how it is contrived. 

''^ Our elder architects went upon a different 
plan, and never considered a mighty but well- 



WESTMINSTER HALL. 203 



proportioned and well-arranged system of 
handsome timbers an unsightly object." 

Frederick observed^ that the beams in the 
roof of their parish church were to be seen^ 
and that they were curiously carved. 

" The labour/' I observed, bestowed in 
thus decorating the massy beams of ancient 
buildings was very great ; and the skill, in 
many instances, surpassed that of modern 
workmen." 

I believe/' continued Mr. Longhurst, 
" that the roof of Westminster Hall, presents 
as fine a display of the science, skill, and taste, 
of past ages, as any we have. It is, indeed, 
the largest roof of that construction any where 
to be found. The hall w^as first built by 
William Rufus, about seven hundred and thirty 
years ago. Large as it is, the King was not 
half satisfied with it, and called it a mere 



204 



WESTMINSTER HALL. 



^ bed chamber/ in comparison of what he 
had wished to have. He^ however, w^ent no 
farther than the foundations in his intended 
building. 

But the great hall was altered and en- 
larged by Richard II. who had the present 
roof constructed. It is formed of chestnut, 
which is not at all decayed. It is two hundred 
and seventy-five feet long, and seventy-four 
feet wide ! King Richard is said to have 
feasted ten thousand persons under this roof ; 
this and some other royal whims, I believe, 
by their expenses, led to the rebellion of Wat 
Tyler ; and, perhaps, at last to the dethrone- 
ment and murder of the King ? " 

^' And for what," said Amelia, do they now 
use Westminster Hall ? " 

For mere purposes of state," I replied — 



RIDING HOUSE AT MOSCOW. 



205 



such as coronations^ and the trial of high 
personages^ who may have done amiss." 

But/' said Mr. Longhurst^ " the Riding- 
House^ at Moscow^ built by the Grand Duke 
Paul^ of Moscovy^ afterwards Emperor of Rus- 
sia^ is certainly the most surprising roof we 
ever heard of. It is of the modern construc- 
tion^ and ceiled ; and quite unsupported by 
cross walls or pillars. The length is one thou- 
sand nine hundred and twenty feet^ and the 
span of the roof two hundred and thirty-five 
feet. The floor covers the vast extent of more 
than ten English acres ! " 

And how large are the largest ships ?" in- 
quired Harry. " I suppose^ they are made en- 
tirely of wood ?" 

With here and there just a little bit of 
iron^ or so/' said Mr. Longhurst^ smiling. It 



206 REMARKABLY LARGE SHIPS. 

is^ however, true, that the bulk^ substance^ 
and body of every vessel is timber ; but the 
quantity of iron used in cramping those in- 
numerable beams together is enormous. 

A Mr. Wood, of Port Glasgow, in the 
isle of Orleans, in the gulf of St. Lawrence, 
constructed, I believe, the largest ships that 
ever were borne upon the ocean. His great 
ship, the Columbus, was three hundred feet 
long, more than fifty feet broad, and almost 
thirty feet deep. Her actual tonnage, or 
weight, that she would carry, was five thou- 
sand tons ! She came to England, from Ca- 
nada, with timber, in 1825 ; but went to pieces 
on her return." 

" O, what a sad thing !" said Harriet. ^' I 
should have thought myself safer in that, than 
in any other." 

You would not have judged correctly, my 



BRIDGE AT SH AUFFH AU SE N. 207 

dear/' said Mr. L. ; there is a size and weighty 
beyond which a structure that floats^ and is 
unequally supported^ will not hold together." 

" The Baron of Renfrew," I observed, " was 
a vessel of perhaps larger dimensions ; and as 
that shared a similar fate, the rage for build- 
ing such immoderately large ships quickly died 
away," 

" Buildings and shipping/' said Mr. Long- 
hurst, certainly shew the use and strength 
of timber to great advantage ; and so do some 
of the famous wooden bridges. Those near 
London, at Battersea, and Putney, especially 
the latter, are, however, only famous for their 
surpassing clumsiness, and the want of even 
common skill and science in their formation. 

But the bridge at SchafFhausen, across the 
Rhine, was an astonishing specimen of con- 
structive ability in a man — ^Ulric Grubenman 



208 MR. rudyard's lighthouse. 

— who had had little or no education. The 
width of the river there was three hundred and 
sixty-four feet^ and the bridge was thrown into 
the form of a single arch^ although it had sup- 
port from a pier in the centre. This bridge 
was destroyed by the French in 1799; but 
several others^ built by Ulric^ are still standing. 

Another remarkable instance^ and per- 
haps the most so of any^ of the employment of 
timber^ was by a Mr. Rudyard^ once a silk- 
mercer^ on Ludgate-hill. It was the light- 
house on the Eddystone rock, which stood 
there before the present stone one was built. An 
edifice of this sort had been previously erected 
on that spot by Mr. Winstanley ; but he and 
his lighthouse were unfortunately washed from 
the spot during a dreadful storm, in 1703. 

Mr. Rudyard built his sea tower entirely of 
wood, using layers of stone, merely as a weight 



MR. rudyard's lighthouse. 209 



to keep it steady. It was more than sixty feet 
high, and was so contrived, that there was 
little about it, of which the storm could lay 
hold. On the top of this was the lantern, an 
octagon, or eight-sided figure, which, with its 
burners, would give the needful ray to warn 
mariners of the hidden danger beneath. And 
this masterpiece of skill continued to brave the 
storms for nearly fifty years, when it was de- 
stroyed by a most surprising circumstance, 
which certainly had not entered into the ex- 
pectations of the builder." Here Harry read 
us an abstract of the account, given by Mr. 
Smeaton, who built the present lighthouse. 

On the 22d of August, 1755, the workmen 
returned on shore, having finished all necessary 
repairs for that season. All appeared to be 
right, excepting that a brick or two had been 
displaced from the kitchen fire-place by a late 

p 



210 MR. rudyard's lighthouse. 

storm. But on the first of December, the 
\ buildmg took fire, and in a few days was re- 

duced to a charred ruin on its foundation. 
How the fire originated, none can tell. One 
of the three men, who had the care of this 
edifice, made off* as soon as he was brought on 
shore from the blazing tower, and was never 
again heard of ; but as it was but a chance that 
any on the spot should escape with their lives, 
it does not seem probable that the fire was wil- 
ful ; unless the incendiary were indeed mad. 

It appears, that when the light-keeper 
went into the lantern, to snuff* the candles, he 
found the whole in a smoke, and upon his 
opening the door, a flame burst forth. He 
immediately endeavoured to alarm his com- 
panions ; but they, being in bed and asleep, 
were not ready in coming to his assistance. 
The poor man did what he could in throwing 



MR. rudyard's lighthouse. 211 



water, which his companions now brought up^ 
on the burning cupola; but this^ of course^ 
went on slowly. Meantime^ the fire gained 
strength rapidly^ and the man^ though he 
made every exertion^ could do little against 
them. As this unhappy man was looking up- 
wards^ to see the effect of the water thrown^ a 
torrent of melted lead suddenly poured down 
upon him^ and made its way not only under 
and through his clothes^ but down his throat ! 
He was ninety-four years of age^ and died in 
about twelve days after the accident." 

That will do for our present purpose^ 
Harry. We will now thank Mr. Burton for 
a few general remarks on subjects connected 
with trees, which some of us have not yet 
attended to at all." 

I readily complied with the request, to the 
best of my ability ; although I knew that the 

p 2 



212 



PARTS OF A TREE. 



difficulty was considerable of conveying infor- 
mation of this sort to parties so young. But I 
relied much on the attention which I knew 
our little audience would bestow, as well as on 
their natural readiness and quickness of appre- 
hension. 



PARTS OF A TREE. 

The parts of a tree, of which we take prin- 
cipal notice, are the root, the stem, the bark, 
the timber or wood, the leaves, the flowers, 
the fruit, and the juices or sap. A tree, like 
the body of an animal, is a vascular structure ; 
that is, it consists of an almost infinite number 
of vessels for the transmission of juices, which 
supply with nourishment all the other parts." 



THE ROOT. 213 

Only/' observed Mr. Longhurst, there is 
this difference, that the juices of trees proceed 
all one way, upwards, or towards the extremi- 
ties ; but the blood of animals returns conti- 
nually to the heart, whence it set out — this we 
call circulation'' 

" A very needful distinction to remember," 
I said. " The root of a tree supplies, we 
suppose, the principal part of the nourishment 
to the whole. It is, however, the small thread- 
like fibres, which draw those juices from the 
earth, and not all those stouter parts, which 
are principally of use to hold the tree in its 
place." * 

The root," said Mr. Longhurst, is called 
by botanists, radix ; and you, young gentle- 
men, know well why." 

O, yes. Sir," said they, we know as much 
of Latin as that." 



214 INVERSION OF TREES. 



And/' I continued^ the fibres^ or root- 
lets^ are named radicles (radiculce) : these are 
renewed every year." 

The gardener was saying once/' observed 
Harriet^ ^^that he could make roots become 
branches^ and branches roots ; but he did not 
tell us how ; he only looked very cunning." 

There are many plants/' I said^ which 
may be so served; as gooseberries^ currants^ 
willows^ vines^ the ash^ and many others. If 
you take a small branch of one of these^ and 
bend it down^ so as to cover it with earth, 
it will, in a few months, send forth roots into 
that earth, so that the branch may be quite 
separated, and it will not die. And you may 
also take a young shrub, of many sorts, and 
plant it root uppermost ; it will, in time, grow 
and send forth buds from the roots, and roots 
from the branches." 



THE STEM. 



215 



Nearly all the young folks expressed their 
determination to adopt this neio plan in their 
own little gardens. Mr. Longhurst said he 
should not do so in his own garden ; having 
found no inconvenience in gathering the fruit 
from the parts of the trees at present above 
ground. 

We next come to the stem. Trees and 
shrubs have generally a woody or solid sub- 
stance proceeding from the root, and which 
commonly attains some height, before it divides 
into branches. It is this substance that forms 
the great provision of nature for necessary uses 
and the comfort of man. It is this ligneous 
or woody material which supplies him, as w^e 
all know, with timber and fuel. These trunks 
vary in magnitude, from the enormous trees 
we have before mentioned, to the dwarf alpine 
willow (Saliv herbacea)^ of which, it is said. 



216 



THE BARK. 



that half a dozen may be enclosed between 
two pages of a lady's pocket-book^ without 
touching each other." 

how I should like to have one of those 
pretty little trees !" exclaimed Amelia. 

I am afraid/' rejoined ^^that it would 
be too tender to bear being taken up and 
planted roots uppermost ! 

It does not appear that so much sap is 
sent through the solid timber of the tree as 
through the bark. This is always, by much, 
the most juicy, and it is from this part that 
turpentine, gum, resin, and other forms of the 
sap, are obtained from trees. There are very 
few trees which do not die, if the bark be 
stripped off all round ; but most of them will re- 
produce it, if only a small portion be left. As 
the tree grows, the inner bark slowly becomes 
timber, or sap-wood, the outer bark cracks and 



LEAVES OF TREES 



217 



forms the rough coat, in which most trees are 
clothed, and a new inner bark is formed." 

Now as to the Leaves^ their use to the 
plant that bears them is not so evident ; but 
it is now generally understood, that the air 
has upon them a chemical effect, needful to the 
life of the whole ; for if all the leaves be picked 
off, the plant languishes, or dies. Their uses 
for man are too numerous to be named at pre- 
sent. The leaves of most trees, having lasted 
during the warm and genial season, die and 
drop off ; not merely by their own weight, but 
by the action of the plant itself." 

But in hot countries," observed Mr. Long- 
hurst, this is not the case. The trees there 
do as evergreens with us ; they lose their old 
leaves, only as new ones come ; so there is 
no ' general fall of the leaf,' as in the colder 
climates." 



218 FLOWERS OF TREES. 

That is a curious things which I had never 
thought of," said Harry. 

It is, therefore/' replied Mr. Longhurst, 
the situation of the plant, rather than its 
own peculiar nature, which makes the change. 
Those, which with us retain their leaves in the 
winter, are more hardy than the others, that 
is all." 

As to Flow ERS, though some trees, as the 
chestnut, mahogany, and thorn acacia, have 
beautiful blossoms, many trees of the largest 
growth have none, properly so called. We 
will take some notice of the parts of a flower, 
and then we shall better understand the dis- 
tinction. That which we commonly call the 
flower of a plant, as the four yellow leaves of 
the wall-flower, the bell of the campanula, the 
snowy cup of the white convolvulus, and the 



THE LARGEST FLOWERS. 219 

lily^ is called the corolla^ which, you know, 
means little crown. The leaves, which com- 
pose that corolla, are called the petals. 

But these parts are not essential to the pro- 
duction of fruit or seeds, called fructification. 
The fig, the oak, and the beech, have a minute 
substitute for the flower ; but they have no 
corolla — no petals. Some very small plants 
have this again very large in proportion ; as 
the dwarf gentian, whose flower, in April, is 
bigger than the plant itself." 

I suppose," said Mr. Longhurst, that 
the largest flower ever known was that disco- 
vered in Sumatra ; a climbing plant, the bud 
of which is larger than a goose, measuring, 
when full-blown, three feet over, and weighing 
fifteen pounds !" 

That is, indeed, enormous ! I think the 



I 

220 THE LARGEST FLOWERS. 



largest flower with us is the sun-flower, which 
sometimes measures a foot or eighteen inches 
across ; but we are straying from the Forest. 

Nature, having given us abundance of 
fi'uit on trees of smaller growth, has not fur- 
nished timber trees in general with eatable 
fruit ; their solid substance was chiefly in- 
tended for the use of man. There are excep- 
tions, however, to this statement, as the wal- 
nut and sweet chestnut. Every tree, inc^eed, 
has its^'seed, which, how small and insignificant 
soever it may appear, is still of more value 
than the pine-apple or the melon, because ca- 
pable of producing the same sort of tree again." 



221 



SUBMERGED FORESTS. 

We have now taken some notice, which 
I hope will be useful to us/' said Mr. Long- 
hurst, of the Forests above ground ; those 
which nature has provided for the use of man, 
and for the food and residence of beasts. Per- 
haps a word or two, in conclusion, respecting 
those beneath^ which, by some powerful agency, 
have been destroyed^ may not be uninterest- 
ing." 

Forests above ground T repeated Frede- 
rick. ^' Are there any below ? " 

We shall hear. Forests are subject to 
destruction from two causes — inundation and 
fire. Immense tracts of country, which have 
been overflowed, ages ago, by land-floods or by 



22121 SUBMERGED FORESTS. 

the sea^ appear to have been once covered with 
mighty forests of pine and other trees. In 
Yorkshire, an extensive district, called Hatfield 
Chase, was, nearly half of it, annually drowned 
with water. This land was sold to one Ver- 
muiden, a rich and enterprising Dutchman, 
who, at the expense of about 400,000/. drained 
it, and made it fit for pasturage. Deep in 
this long-soaked soil are found vast remains of 
every variety of timber native with us. Oaks 
of very large size, as black as ebony, and 
almost as hard as iron, were found, and sold 
for ship timber. Many of these trees have the 
evident marks of human labour upon them ; 
and not a few wedges and axe-heads have 
been there picked up." 

But, I think I have understood," said 
Mrs. Heathfield, that coals are the remains 
of timber-forests, changed, by the lapse of 



FORESTS ON FIRE. 22S 

many ages, to the substance we now call 
coal." 

Such, I believe to be the fact. Madam," 
said Mr. Longhurst. Indeed, such things 
as nuts and acorns sometimes appear, with 
sprigs and branches of wood, reduced to coal. 

This leads us," I said, to the other cause 
of destruction to Forests— ^Ve. To this the 
pine-forests are most liable, from their very 
combustible nature." 

But who is to set them on fire ?" demanded 
Harry. 

Lightning," I replied ; or the careless- 
ness of men. The Laplanders and boatmen 
think nothing of making fires in the woods, 
and leaving them alight ; by which, miles 
of the finest pine forests are continually 
destroyed." 

But," said Mr. Longhurst, the fires 



224 FORESTS ON FIRE. 

amongst the American forests are the most 
awfully terrific. A hundred miles of country 
were seen on fire at once, in the year 1825, on 
the north side of the Miramichi river. I sup- 
pose, that we Europeans can scarcely form an 
idea of such a spectacle as this. The roaring 
of the woods during this tremendous confla- 
gration, resembled the incessant rolling of 
thunder. The expansion of air in the forest, 
by the intense heat, caused a rush of wind 
around, which amounted to a hurricane.' If 
these fires occur much oftener. North Ame- 
rica, vast as is its natural supply, will no 
longer export timber, as it has hitherto done ; 
and we may then think more of the value 
of our smaller, but better protected British 
Forests." 



INDEX. 





Page 




Page 


A. 




Birch . 


137 


Abele 


109 


Boscobel Oak' . 


36 


Acorns 


26 


Bows and Bowmen 


86 


Ag^ of Trees . 


30 


Box 


141 


Alder . 


139 


Butt, or Stick 


21 


Alpnach — slide of . 


73 


c. 




Application of Timber 


202 




Aspen 


109 


Catkins 


132 


Ash • . . 


48 


Carriage of Timber . 


192 


B. 




Cedar of Lebanon 


79 




Red 


81 


Banian 


166 


Charcoal 


41 


Bark 


216 


Chestnut 


103 


Bashing 


101 


Cork-tree 


151 


Beech 


59 


Cypress • . . 


92 



Q 



226 



INDEX 



D. 

Dates . 

Deal Timber . 
Death of Riifus 
Douglas Pine . 
Drag, Timber 



E. 



Elm 
Elder 



F. 

Faggots . 
Felling Timber 
Fir . 
Floats . 

Flowers, Largest 
Forests, Bm-ied 

On Fire 

Foreign Timber 



Page 



137 
65 
13 
94 

195 



54 
125 



189 
171 
62 
72 
219 
221 
223 
143 



G. 

Growth of Trees . 
Gun Stocks 

H. 

Hazel 

Heart of Timber . 
Holly 

Hornbeam . 
Horse Chestnut 
Flusbandman's Tree 

I. 

Indian Charcoal . 
K. 

King's Oak . 
Knee, Timber . 

L. 

Lambert Pine . 
Larch . 



Page 

31 
100 



132 
32 
122 
135 
107 
49 



116 



34 
23 



95 
75 



INDEX. 



Page 

Leaves of Trees . 217 
Lever . . . 196 
Lighthouses . . 208 
Lime-tree . . 118 

M. 

Mahogany . .145 
Maple ... 128 
Mast (fruit of Trees) 60 
Masts of Ships . 66 
Measuring Timber . 188 
Moscow, Riding House 205 
Mountain Ash . . 53 

N. 

New Forest , 7 
O. 

Oak ... 17 

Apples . . 37 

jjark . . 40 



227 

Page 

Oak Galls . . 38 
Timber . . 39 

P. 

Palm-tree . .156 

Pine . . , 62 
Pitch ... 68 

Plane-tree . . 131 

Poplar . . .108 

Pulley . . . 198 

R. 

Red Cedar . .81 
Resin . . . 68 
Riding House . . 205 
Roots . . 213 
Rufus ... 12 

S. 

Sap . . . 32 

SchafFhausen Bridge 207 

Serrated Leaves . 48 



228 



INDEX. 





Page 




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oizc 01 irecs • • 




1 uris • • 


oouiiUj uy ±iiiiL)cr • 


1 o / 


± 111 ptjii Liilt; • 




181 






82 


w 


Stem 


215 


TXT 1 

vvamut 


Stick, or Butt 


21 


waste lianas 


oX/OCKing up • • 


I/O 


vv edge 


Sycamore 


129 


\ V ebLiiiiiioLcr sndLL 






Willow 


T. 








Weepmg 


LSLY . • • 


A7 


Woodstacks 


1 act IT tT*£iO 




Work in Woods 


Thorn Acacia 


117 




Timber Carriage 


200 


Y. 


" rloats 


72 


Yew 


Measuring of 


186 






THE 


END. 



LONDON : 

PRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLEY, 
Dorset Street, Fleet Street. 



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